Netherlands opts for L3Harris radios for major digitisation programme

L3Harris Technologies will supply its radios for the combat net radio requirement as part of the Foxtrot digitisation programme. The company is already supplying its AN/PRC-163 radios to meet the ‘Replacement of Ground-Air Radios' requirement under Foxtrot. (Janes/Olivia Savage)

L3Harris Technologies has been selected by the Netherlands Armed Forces to supply its radios for the Foxtrot tactical digitisation programme.

This will involve delivering radios for approximately 8,000 vehicles, 3,500 military personnel, 135 vessels, 170 aircraft, and helicopters under the Foxtrot combat net radio requirement to improve interoperability between units and international partners, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 20 November.

An MoD spokesperson told Janes that the acquisition of the new combat net radios, called the Military Transmission Building Block (MTBB) project, will involve both vehicle-mounted and handheld radios. While the spokesperson was unable to detail which radios were selected, they did note that the first operational units will be equipped with the systems from 2026. Between EUR250 and EUR1,000 million (USD273 and USD1,094 million) have been budgeted for the requirement, the spokesperson added.

According to the announcement, the company was selected because they were the only manufacturer that could meet all the requirements and deliver on short notice.

Foxtrot is a major digitisation modernisation programme worth up to EUR1.2 billion that seeks to support the Netherlands Armed Forces transition to an information-driven, integrated force. Key to this is the replacement of legacy communication systems, such as radios. Due to the size of the programme, Foxtrot will be delivered to units incrementally. Germany is also participating in the programme under a joint initiative known as Tactical Edge Networking (TEN), which aims to digitally integrate the two armed forces' communication systems.