Military Orders Harris Shortwave Tactical Radio Systems

By Doug Lung
published


The U.S. military recognizes the value of shortwave radio, as shown by a recent U.S. Marine Corps System Command order for $78 million of Falcon II AN/VRC-104 high frequency tactical radio systems for use in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs).

"Harris continues to provide the most reliable and secure beyond line-of-sight radio technology to this critically important program," said Steve Marschilok, president of DOD business at Harris RF Communications. "Our radios deliver life-saving communication capabilities in the most dangerous of missions for all types of MRAP vehicles."

The AN/VRC-104 is a vehicular transceiver/amplifier that includes the AN/FRC-150(C), a Type-1 high-frequency manpack radio. The Harris Falcon II radios [PDF] are software-defined tactical radio systems supporting the U.S. military's Joint Tactical Radio System requirements. The system is capable of data rates up to 9.6 kbps.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.