On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the U.S. Department of State approved the potential sale to the Kingdom of Belgium of a package including a large batch of handheld, manpack, and vehicular radio sets from L3Harris Technologies, valued at up to 156.1 million USD.
Photo: L3Harris Technologies
According to the published information, the government in Brussels requested the possibility of acquiring an undisclosed number of AN/PRC-163 handheld radios, AN/PRC-167 vehicular radios, and AN/PRC-160 manpack radios, KIK-11 tactical encryption devices, dismount kits and batteries, accessories for the AN/PRC-160, vehicle integration kits, additional equipment for the AN/PRC-163 and AN/PRC-167, RF-9820S handheld radios and dismount accessories, as well as audio, power, and configuration accessories specific to the radios, which will be added to a previously implemented case whose value was below the congressional notification threshold.
The original Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case, valued at 86.95 million USD, included the following items not classified as Major Defense Equipment (MDE): AN/PRC-117G manpack radios, AN/PRC-152A handheld radios, AN/PRC-160 manpack radios, AN/PRC-158 manpack radios, AN/PRC-163 handheld radios, as well as associated accessories, dismount kits, and training.
Analysis
The AN/PRC-160 of the Falcon III series is, according to the manufacturer, the smallest and lightest device in its class available on the market. These manpack radios, also certified by the NSA, use Wideband HF/VHF frequencies from 1.5 to 60 MHz for voice communications. They enable data transmission with bandwidths from 3 kHz to 24 kHz at rates of up to 120 kb/s. The device measures 8.3 cm × 20 cm × 23.4 cm and weighs 4.1 kg (without battery). L3Harris Technologies offers two variants: AN/PRC-160(V)1 and AN/PRC-160(V)2, using RT-2060(C)/U and RT-2061(C)/U modules, respectively, with Sierra II programmable encryption up to the TOP SECRET level, as well as Citadel and AES encryption. They are compatible with 2G, 3G, and 4G cellular networks and feature an integrated SAASM cryptographic module (or optionally a commercial GPS receiver).
The AN/PRC-163 of the Falcon IV NextGen series is a handheld radio operating from 30 MHz to 2.6 GHz in networks of up to 200 users, within a MANET (Mobile Ad Hoc Network), using waveforms such as TSM-X, ANW2, Wraith, and others.
The AN/PRC-167 of the Falcon IV series is an encrypted vehicular radio operating from 5 kHz to 40 MHz and from 764 MHz to 2400 MHz in a MANET environment using the TSM-X waveform. It is certified by the NSA up to the TOP SECRET level and includes an integrated SAASM L1/L2 encryption module.
The AN/PRC-152A of the Falcon III series is a handheld radio providing simultaneous transmission of voice, video, and high-speed data. Using SRW (Soldier Radio Waveform) and ANW2 C (L3Harris Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform), it enables users to operate within a MANET. It operates in frequency ranges up to 520 MHz and from 762 to 870 MHz.
The AN/PRC-117 of the Falcon II series is offered in two versions: AN/PRC-117F and AN/PRC-117G. The latter, requested by Belgium and also designated AN/PRC-117G-MP Multiband Networking Manpack Radio, offers a frequency range from 30 to 2000 MHz and includes an integrated military GPS with SAASM, with the option to use an external commercial GPS.
The AN/PRC-158 of the Falcon IV series provides fully encrypted communications (thanks to the Sierra II encryption module), certified by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) up to the US TOP SECRET level. It operates in the 30 to 2500 MHz frequency range for voice and data transmission. It is compatible with the MUOS (Mobile User Objective System) satellite communications network and includes an expansion slot for potential integration of modules for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), MANET networking, and signals intelligence (SIGINT).
It is worth noting that last year the Czech Republic received approval to purchase large batches of L3Harris Technologies radios (valued at up to 181 million USD), and in 2024 the Kingdom of the Netherlands (up to 1.42 billion USD) and Germany (281 million USD), while at the end of 2023 Poland also received approval (255 million USD; to be used, among others, on LPR Legwan vehicles). In 2021, a batch of AN/PRC-158 radios was delivered to NATO countries.