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BCommunications & electronic warfare
system which allows ground forces, such as Forward air controllers (FAC), to see what an aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seeing in real time
Measured figures
Own2004backpackconfiguration only, notIV/V orinstalledaircraft · device
Single source5.4 kg (12 lb) device[source]Own2004backpackconfiguration only, notIV/V orinstalledaircraft
Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.
Configuration
| Specification | AN/PRC-163 | ROVER |
|---|---|---|
| Power | 250 mW to 5 W , 10 W SATCOM modes, 3.2 W L/S-band[source] | — |
| Type | Handheld dual channel tactical radio[source] | system which allows ground forces, such as Forward air controllers (FAC), to see what an aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is seeing in real time[source] |
| In service | 2018 - ongoing[source] | — |
| Used by | US Army , US Marine Corps , US Navy , US Air Force , British Army , Canadian Army[source] | — |
| Manufacturer | L3Harris[source] | — |
| Production years | 2018 - ongoing[source] | — |
| Frequency range | VHF, UHF (see specifications)[source] | — |
| Transmit power | LOS: up to 5 watts SATCOM: up to 10 watts[source] | — |
| Modes | analog voice, digital voice and data[source] | — |
| Encryption | NSA Type 1 (up to Secret)[source] | — |
| R/T 1 | VHF low: 30–88 MHz (10.0–3.4 m), VHF high: 118–174 MHz (2.54–1.72 m) UHF : 225–512 MHz (1.332–0.586 m) SATCOM: Uplink 300–320 MHz (1.00–0.94 m) / Downlink 360–380 MHz (0.83–0.79 m) UHF SATCOM: Uplink 291–318 MHz (1.03–0.94 m) / Downlink 243–270 MHz (1.23–1.11 m)[source] | — |
| R/T 2 | UHF: 225–450 MHz (1.33–0.67 m) L / S-band : 1.3–2.6 GHz (0.23–0.12 m)[source] | — |
| Voice | Narrowband analog / PCM AM / FM , CVSD ASK / FSK ciphertext , Wideband 2400 bit/s MELPe , LPC /2400- MELP – SATCOM Integrated Waveform (IW)[source] | — |
| Data | Narrowband analog/PCM AM/FM, CVSD ASK/FSK ciphertext, Wideband up to 16 Mbit/s[source] | — |
| Net Presets | 99 (standard); unlimited with multiple mission files[source] | — |
| GPS | Built-in module— SAASM L1/L2 or Commercial L1[source] | — |
| Programming | Front Panel Programmable (FPP), Windows PC-based Communications Planning Application (CPA) via USB connection.[source] | — |
| Country of origin | United States[source]Inventory Origin column; table 6, row 4, cell 3; revision 1376109880; retrieved 2026-09-30 | United States[source]Inventory Origin column; table 16, row 21, cell 3; revision 1375013163; retrieved 2026-09-30 |
| Display | — | laptop on the ground[source] |
| Role | — | close air support[source] |
| Introduced | — | 2002[source]ROVERI introduction only |
| Compatibility | — | UAVs and aircraft carrying the LITENING targeting pod as well as other targeting systems[source] |
| Other pod compatibility | — | Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod also uses the ROVER for ground station[source] |