L3Harris Completes US Navy Testing of FleetLink Communications
L3Harris Technologies said on November 12, 2026, that it has completed U.S. Navy operational testing of its FleetLink communications system aboard an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. The trial measured whether the system meets the Navy’s communications requirements under real shipboard conditions.
FleetLink was developed under the Navy’s 2023 Scalable, Modular Radio Cluster (SMRC) contract. It combines software-defined radios, multiple waveforms, data-integration functions, and L3Harris’s latest NSA-certified cryptographic capability. The system comes in three configurations: a four-channel high-frequency (HF) variant, a four-channel multi-band variant, and a submarine multi-band variant.
Faisal Munir, L3Harris’s President of Mission Critical Communications, said the testing confirmed that interoperability is a foundational requirement for the Navy’s increasingly complex operations, and that the system demonstrated seamless surface and undersea communications under real operational conditions.
FleetLink is meant to replace aging shipboard radio equipment. One such legacy system, the AN/USQ-195(V) Battle Force Tactical Network (BFTN), provides HF networking at 19.2 kbps over roughly 370 km and UHF networking at 64 kbps over about 37 km. At those speeds, moving a 1 MB file takes around seven minutes over HF or two minutes over UHF, which pushes fleets toward short text traffic rather than imagery or sensor feeds.
Communications is only one piece of the Navy’s broader modernization picture. General Dynamics’ AN/USC-61(C) Digital Modular Radio already covers 2 MHz to 2 GHz fleet-wide, while submarine integration runs through the Common Submarine Radio Room, managed by program office PMW 770, and the OE-538 Multi-Function Mast. How FleetLink will plug into that existing architecture is a question L3Harris has not yet detailed.
Why this matters
Keeping ships able to talk to each other when satellite links are jammed or unavailable is becoming a more pressing requirement across NATO navies as Russian and Chinese electronic-warfare and anti-satellite capabilities grow. FleetLink’s multi-band, NSA-certified architecture is a reference point not just for the U.S. Navy but for allied fleets operating comparable Aegis-based destroyers.
The test also offers a useful comparison for Türkiye’s own resilient-communications work. Naval communications and command-and-control systems developed by HAVELSAN and ASELSAN face a similar challenge: reducing dependence on satellites while pushing more data through HF and UHF bands. FleetLink’s demonstrated gains mark where that technology threshold currently sits.
Completing the test is not the same as entering service. Neither L3Harris nor the Navy has released a timeline for production or for which ships would receive the system first, so the announcement should be read as an operational-testing milestone rather than a procurement decision.
Frequently asked questions
Which ship class was used for the test?
An Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer; L3Harris did not name the specific ship.
How many configurations does FleetLink come in?
Three: a four-channel HF system, a four-channel multi-band system, and a submarine multi-band system.
When will FleetLink enter fleet-wide service?
No production or installation timeline has been announced; the completed test marks the end of operational evaluation, not a procurement decision.
Under which contract was FleetLink developed?
Under the Navy’s 2023 Scalable, Modular Radio Cluster (SMRC) contract.
Sources: L3Harris Technologies, “L3Harris Demonstrates Maritime Interoperability with FleetLink Communications During US Navy Testing” (press release, November 12, 2026, l3harris.com) — primary source for system specifications and the executive statement. Army Recognition, “US Navy completes FleetLink communications trials aboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyer” (Jérôme Brahy, November 14, 2026, armyrecognition.com) — used for technical context and comparison with legacy systems.
