NSA (Fort Meade, Md.) has certified Harris's multiband Falcon III tactical radio for use by the U.S. military. The handheld radio uses DoD's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Software Communications Architecture. Harris said the radio is the first using the operating environment to receive NSA certification to encrypt voice and data traffic up to the Top Secret classification.

The radio, designated the AN/PRC-152 by the military, uses Harris's Sierra II software programmable encryption module. Sierra II won NSA certification last year, according to Harris's RF Communications Division (Rochester, N.Y.).

DoD's Software Communications Architecture is designed to allow for the addition of future JTRS waveforms, Harris said.