Broken and unreadable: Potential issues for PRC-163 ahead of major contracts
Potential issues with the PRC-163 could mean for a rocky few months as the radio sees widespread adoption among NATO allies
While it’s true that the words “reliable” and “communications” are almost oxymoronic, L3 Harris seem to have cracked the nut over the past 10 years or so. PRC-152 and PRC-152A radios are almost a staple for those in need of reliable communications; from JTACs, to Forward Observers, to signalers and Special Forces.
However, that isn’t to say the widespread adoption of the PRC-152 has been without issue. Since 2005, the PRC-152 has been adopted by more than 100 countries and has been largely well-received. As with all military equipment – spares, repairs and training will need to be abundant to ensure a good service life. On the higher power bands, the PRC-152 and PRC-152A units are notorious for burning through batteries – battery life varying wildly depending on the transmission to reception ratio, with the potential battery life dropping from 48 to 24 hours.
UK Special Forces JTACs during training. JTACs are often issued 2x AN/PRC-152A Radios for Ground-to-Ground, Air-to-Ground and Over-the-Horizon (OTH/SATCOM) communications
So far the PRC-163 has been winning contracts throughout NATO and western militaries, with the UK (including United Kingdom Special Forces) announcing a £90million procurement order for more than 1,300 units in 2022, other NATO nations including Belgium reportedly placing large orders and US Marines and SOCOM (Special Operations Command) placing orders for $750million and $235million respectively. These will satisfy the Marines need for handheld and vehicle-borne communications on an Indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) basis, essentially keeping L3 Harris on retainer for the duration of the contract to supply hardware and training to the USMC and SOCOM orders.
“Operating across 30–512 MHz, 225–450 MHz, and 1,300–2,600 MHz frequency bands, the AN/PRC-163 provides end-users with line-of-sight, beyond-line-of-sight, and mobile ad hoc network (MANET) communications. Power output ranges between 250 mW and 5W, and 10W in satcom mode.”
UKSF have already started receiving their PRC-163s, paired with Invisio control boxes and T7 headsets
Why the move from the PRC-152A to the PRC-163?
“This contract boosts our interoperability with allies and is yet another example of British companies and employees support British defence.”
Defence Procurement Minister Alex Chalk
L3 Harris, currently under contract with General Dynamics UK, is expecting the contract to create 300 new jobs in Hampshire, manufacturig, programming and distributing radios. The acquisition of the PRC-163 is also expected to continue to provide “modern capabilities” and “maintain operational effectiveness on an ever-changing battlefield” for the British Army. The PRC-163 can function on wider frequency bands than the PRC-152A - alongside multi-band, multi-channel communications capabilities. This allows does increase the compatibility between frequencies and bands commonly used by Air and Land forces of partner nations.
So, what are the PRC-163 issues and are they major or minor?
So far the issues reported with the PRC-163 are;
Loss of encryption fill, leading to loss of communications and security when transmitting data between devices. This is a major issue, potentially compromising Operational Security (OPSEC).
Excessive heat buildup when transmitting and receiving, this is not atypical of high-wattage radios but this heat buildup is purportedly worse than that of the AN/PRC-152A
New proprietary connectors could mean massive reorders of ancillary and associated hardware. This can be including, but not limited to, push to talks (PTTs), radio downleads and potentially headsets, owing to lack of compatability with the radio. Similar moves alienated Invisio/TEA to several military units, as proprietary cables required large industry players such as Gentex and Invisio/TEA to work together on small contract orders, such as USSOCOM and their order of Ops Core AMP Downleads to work with Gen 1 V-Series Invisio boxes. These cables were discontinued shortly after delivery, leading to little-to-no follow on care for end-users.
Some batteries reportedly exploded in wet environments, according to a serving JTAC, several US-purchased radio batteries exploded in wet weather and had to be replaced. There is no available information on whether the radios were serviceable or not after the incidents.
UK Forces have already taken receipt of partial orders of the 1,300 unit total, as scheduled (@MOD image)
A leading UK communications source has stated that,
“They are winning contracts but users hate them, (although) a lot of users don’t get to pick their kit.”
This isn’t to say the PRC-163 isn’t a capable radio, but we and many end-users will be paying close attention to how the first 12 months of serious use plays out for this military tech titan.
If you are interested in any of our other articles, you can read more here.
