A £90 million contract to upgrade land-based radio capabilities
will improve battlefield effectiveness while supporting over 200
jobs in Hampshire.
The new deal for 1,300 new Multi-Mode Radios (MMR), which has
been awarded to L3 Harris Communications Systems, will see the
portable radios operated by foot soldiers or those mounted on
vehicles.
Technical advances and upgrades will allow the radios to work
across a range of security classifications, with the first ones
being delivered to the British Army before the end of the year,
ahead of further deliveries in 2023.
Supporting multiple jobs in the UK supply chain, the contract
will see the creation of 10 new jobs and the sustaining of 200
more at the L3 Harris HQ in Farnborough, Hampshire.
Defence Procurement Minister said:
It’s vital we equip our Armed Forces personnel with modern
capabilities to maintain their operational effectiveness on an
ever-changing battlefield.
This contract boosts our interoperability with allies and is yet
another example of British companies and employees supporting
British defence.
The modern radios will replace legacy systems and improve the
delivery of ground-to-ground and ground-to-air communications.
They will also provide our Armed Forces with increased abilities
to operate with allies and partners, boosting the communications
capabilities of our deployed forces.
Colonel Elizabeth Mortimore said:
The arrival of the next generation of the multi-mode radio
capability will offer significant enhancement to our Armed Forces
across all three Services by delivering world-leading command and
communications capability to the front line.
Vice President and Managing Director L3Harris CS UK Keith
Norton said:
As lead user for this capability for Defence, the British Army
has worked with Defence Digital to procure new MMR radios to add
capability to deployed forces. These will enable land forces to
easily communicate and interoperate with NATO and US allies as
well providing a solution that can be easily tailored for each
deployment.
