The U.S. Army has given Harris Corporation an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to produce Rifleman Radios.

The IDIQ, which allows the company to compete for full-rate production of the radios, is for 10 years -- a five-year base period and a five-year option -- and carries of ceiling value of $3.9 billion.

"The Army's selection of Harris as a provider of Rifleman Radios furthers our leadership position in tactical communications and networking," said Dana Mehnert, group president of Harris RF Communications. "With this contract, the Army is one step closer to putting the radios in the hands of warfighters.

"We have developed a fully compliant radio, the RF-330E, which meets or exceeds the Army's requirements. We are ready for full rate production orders today and look forward to the competition for delivery orders."

The Rifleman Radio is a lightweight, handheld radio that transmits voice and data, using the Soldier Radio Waveform, up and down the chain of command and beyond using the Army's Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T.

Harris said it will now deliver 50 radios for qualification testing.

Full Rate Production fielding of the Rifleman Radio is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2017.