MELBOURNE, Fla., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A new multichannel manpack radio built to meet U.S. military requirements has been introduced by the Harris Corp.
Harris said its Falcon III Multichannel Manpack radio is the first commercially developed tactical radio with two integrated channels in a single chassis and allows users to operate on multiple networks simultaneously.
"We applied real-life battlefield lessons to create a multichannel radio that will transform military tactical communications," said George Helm, president, Department of Defense business, Harris RF Communications. "This new radio will provide warfighters with the same performance and innovation they have come to expect from Harris' field-proven Falcon III family of radios."
Harris said its multichannel manpack is a third smaller than the program-of-record radio, hosts all required U.S. government wideband and narrowband waveforms and is expandable for future upgrades. The radio operates on a single battery, thus lessening the weight load for the soldier.
The system was introduced Monday at the 2013 Association of the United States Army conference in Washington.
