L3Harris Harnesses Commercial Model to Deliver Capability to Warfighters with Speed and Agility

April 24, 2025

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As the United States and its allies have confronted surging threats from peer adversaries in recent years, a consensus has formed across government and industry that the national defense ecosystem is not optimized to build the modern “Arsenal of Democracy 2.0” that is urgently needed to deter and defeat China, Russia, Iran and other rogue nations and non-state actors.  

The Trump administration recently demonstrated its commitment to modernizing defense acquisitions and spurring innovation in the defense industrial base by issuing an executive order that, among many other vital reforms, directs the U.S. Department of Defense to create a streamlined acquisition process that includes “a first preference for commercial solutions.”

As the defense industry’s Trusted Disruptor, L3Harris welcomed the recent executive order, as the company is at the forefront of enabling a more effective and efficient defense industrial base that leverages the innovation and best practices of commercial industry to deliver capability to U.S. and allied warfighters at the speed of relevance.

A prime example is L3Harris’ experience with utilizing commercial models to quickly deliver resilient communications solutions to troops on the battlefield. For more than a decade, the company has designed, developed and certified its Falcon® radio product line – including the AN/PRC-117G, -152, -158 and -163 – to military and NSA standards largely under internal research and development investments.

By proactively investing internally for new technology development, L3Harris is delivering capabilities at scale faster and more affordably, while meeting program requirements and maintaining high-volume production lines at its advanced manufacturing facility in Rochester, New York.

“L3Harris Technologies has pioneered and perfected the commercial business model for DOD programs,” said Sam Mehta, President, Communication Systems, L3Harris. “The combination of our deep mission understanding and software-defined architectures allows us to design our products to meet emerging needs at the tactical edge with the ability to incorporate new technology, so the systems stay relevant however the threat environment evolves.”

L3Harris is able to build best-in-class products to meet critical delivery dates by focusing on customer intimacy, continuous innovation and efficiencies. This includes anticipating new warfighter requirements and building the broadest portfolio of combat-proven products on the market, including an unmatched library of waveforms.

“Companies do run risks with this model because if a customer doesn’t like an offer in a non-development item procurement, they don’t have to buy it,” said Chris Aebli, President, Tactical Communications, L3Harris. “It’s our commitment to understanding the real needs at the tactical edge, establishing our capabilities based on true resiliency and ensuring our products are future-proof through open-system designs that makes our model successful for us, the government and armed forces.”

Due to the broad applicability and continuous production of the Falcon line, the systems have been adopted by many U.S. and allied radio procurement initiatives, including the Army’s Handheld Manpack and Small-Form Fit (HMS), the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s Multi-Mode Radio and the Netherlands’ FOXTROT programs, among others.

“Our commercial approach injects speed, flexibility and execution into addressing real warfighter needs,” said Mehta. “We can receive a radio order on Monday and deliver product by Friday – and that’s exactly what we are doing today at some of the hottest conflict areas on the planet. And because our radios are software-defined, they can quickly be reprogrammed to maintain secure communications in contested environments.”

With a proven track record of delivering affordable and resilient capabilities through commercial solutions, L3Harris stands ready to support U.S. and allied warfighters by helping build the innovative and agile defense technology ecosystem that our men and women in uniform need to stay ahead of surging peer adversaries.

Source : L3Harris Technologies