Harris deliver wideband networking to largest-ever Army network integration evaluation
Harris Corp. is delivering combat-proven wideband networking capability through its Falcon III AN/PRC-117G tactical radio system as part of the U.S. Army Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
The NIE is the first in a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army’s tactical network. The evaluation involves a series of tests and evaluations among five programs of record and 30 emerging or developmental technologies. Involving all 3,800 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, the NIE uniquely combines test and evaluation in a single venue, with the goal of speeding the deployment of an integrated battlefield network.
One of the main purposes of the NIE is to evaluate existing network capabilities, including the Harris AN/PRC-117G multiband manpack tactical radio system. For the NIE, Harris deployed a 20- and 30- Node wideband AN/PRC-117G network, powered by its Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform, or ANW2. The radio network connects a range of military vehicles to company command post platforms and is providing access to applications such as TIGR, FTP and combat chat and is also being used widely in first support missions. The Army’s objective is to assess and collect data on the AN/PRC-117G’s wideband networking performance.
Also under evaluation at the NIE is the RF-7800W High-Capacity Line-of-Sight radio (HCLOS), which delivers quick-to-deploy, point-to-point or point-to-multipoint wireless Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure. The Army is using the RF-7800W during the evaluation to provide remote video feeds to command posts, battalions and headquarters installations.