Harris Wins Key Army Radio Order

The Army awarded Harris Corp. $1.9 million off the GSA schedule to supply 162 radios to support its next Network Integration Evaluation exercise this October at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Paul Mehney, a spokesman for the Army's System of Systems Integration Directorate told Nextgov.

While on the surface this may not seem a big deal for Harris, which has annual revenues of $6 billion, it could be. The 162 radios will run on the Defense Department-owned soldier radio waveform, and last month Mehney said the Army had an "urgent need" to acquire 280 vehicle radios that can run the soldier radio waveform -- which uses software to manage frequencies and bandwidth -- to quickly equip a brigade scheduled for deployment next year.

Mehney revealed that today’s order includes 42 Harris Side Falcon vehicle mounted radios that the company said it developed “in a short time frame in direct response to Army needs.”

Mehney said the radios will be used at the October NIE to support mission command on-the-move operations during the exercise, and I have a hunch that if the new Harris Side Falcon makes the Army happy, the company could win the follow order for the 280 “urgent need” radios. Harris is also now well positioned for a follow-on order for 5,000 more vehicle radios valued at $100 million through a procurement the service announced in February.