Harris Corp Radios Don’t Meet U.S. Army’s Needs, Tester Says
- Radio’s limitations forced military units to change tactics
- Army, which may buy up to 10,000 radios, disputes results
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The Army should consider not buying a new Harris Corp vehicle radio designed to improve and increase the transmission of voice, video and data with command posts because it “did not meet commanders’ operational needs,” according to the Pentagon’s top weapons tester. The Army disagreed.
The radio’s limited range, combined with large size and power requirements, resulted in “significant constraints in combat operations” during two field tests, Pentagon tester Michael Gilmore told Pentagon and Army buyers in a July 3 The radio’s “design constraints force maneuver units to change tactics and hinder the way they fight in order to support the radios,” Gilmore wrote.