Source: United States Senator for New York Charles E Schumer
L3Harris Awarded Up To $750M contract To Supply Thousands Of State-Of-The-Art Multi-Channel Hand Held Radios For The U.S. Marine Corps; Contract Will Boost Pandemic Economic Recovery Of Rochester & Growth Of L3Harris
Reps Say That Rochester-Made Radios Will Replace Outdated Models And Ensure American Soldiers Have The Latest Cutting Edge Technology
Schumer, Morelle: Contract Is A Win-Win-Win: Boost For Our Troops, Growing L3Harris Manufacturing, And Strengthening The Rochester-Finger Lakes Regional Economy
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Congressman Joseph Morelle today announced that L3Harris Technologies in Rochester has been selected by the U.S. Marine Corps to manufacture Falcon IV® Multi-Channel Hand Held (MCHH) radios as a part of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract worth up to $750,000,000. The MCHH radios will replace older legacy handheld systems that do not meet modern cryptographic security standards, ensuring that troops have the latest in modern radio technology.
“The Marine Corps has tuned into the right frequency and recognized what I have long known: that L3Harris and Rochester’s top tier workforce are at the forefront of cutting edge durable radio technology. This up to $750 million contract will support good paying jobs here in Rochester and boost the economic recovery of the entire Finger Lakes region,” said Senator Schumer. “These continued contracts show the Marines recognize that L3Harris has proven time and time again that it can make superior radios for the U.S. military and our allies around the world. I was proud to work hard on behalf of this world-class producer of radios, and will always fight for investments that both protect our troops and provide a shot in the arm to the Rochester-Finger Lakes economy.”
“L3Harris has long been a global leader in defense technology, and I’m thrilled that their expertise is recognized by the U.S. Marine Corps,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “This partnership will not only help protect our courageous Marines and strengthen national defense, it will create jobs and boost our economy right here at home. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’m dedicated to ensuring our military has the technology they need to be safe and successful, and I’ll keep working alongside Senator Schumer to champion and deliver investments like this.”
Schumer and Morelle have long been champions for L3Harris, previously Harris Corporation, to have an equal opportunity to bring innovative work to Rochester. Schumer fought for the Army initially selecting Harris in 2015 as a supplier for the Army’s multi-year $3.9 billion IDIQ Leader radio contract (formerly named the “Rifleman radio”) and in 2016 as a supplier for the Army’s $12.7 billion IDIQ Manpack radio contract. Harris’ win to supply radios under these two multi-billion dollar contracts followed years of work by Schumer to reverse the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) then-proposed plan to award these contracts to just one company, through a sole-source, single-vender procurement process. Schumer said the single-vendor selection process would have created an unfair playing field for all vendors, including Harris, to compete. Schumer fought to ensure that a fully open, multi-year, multi-vendor and competitive acquisition process was instituted, so all manufacturers, including L3Harris, would have a level playing field to compete to win these contracts. Schumer argued that the competition from a fully competitive, multi-vendor process would ensure taxpayers’ get the best-priced radios and the military gets the most technologically advanced radios throughout the life of the contracts.
Last year, L3Harris was selected by the Army to produce more than 4000 Leader Radios and Manpack Radios. Both contracts were a part of multi-vendor Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts that Schumer announced in 2016.
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