Survival Radio - U.S. Military Survival Radios

U.S. Military Survival Radios

Military organizations still issue pilots and other combat personnel individual survival radios, which have become increasingly sophisticated, with built-in Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), Global Positioning Satellite receivers, and satellite communication. United States military survival radios include:

  • AN/CRC-7 - World War II era set, 140.58 MHz
  • AN/PRC-17
  • AN/PRC-32 - Navy rescue sets, 243 MHz.
  • AN/PRC-49
  • AN/PRC-63 - Smallest set built.
  • AN/URC-64 - (Air Force), 4 frequency rescue sets. Four crystal controlled channels (225-285 MHz)
  • AN/URC-68 - (Army), 4 frequency rescue sets.
  • AN/PRC-90 - Vietnam War era airman rescue set. AN/PRC-90-1 and AN/PRC-90-2 are improved, repairable versions. Operates on 121.5, 243 and 282.8 MHz AM. The PRC-90 also included a beacon mode, and a tone generator to allow the sending of Morse Code.
  • AN/PRC-103 - (Air Force) Rescue Swimmer Radio.
  • AN/PRC-112 - Offers Synthesized radio in the VHF and UHF aircraft bands. A PRC-112 and a hand held GPS were used by Capt. Scott O'Grady when he was rescued after being shot down over Bosnia. The AN/PRC-112B, initially known as the Hook 112, is a PRC-112 modified to include a GPS receiver, allowing encrypted position information to be sent. Also has Cospas-Sarsat beacon. The latest model PRC-112G, built by General Dynamics can communicate with satellites as well. Over 31,000 radios in the PRC-112 family have been produced.
  • AN/PRC-125 (Navy) Rescue Swimmer Radio.
  • AN/PRC-149 Rescue Radio, replaces the PRC-90, PRC-112 and PRC-125 for non-combat use. Includes GPS and Cospas-Sarsat beacon. Operates on 121.5 MHz, 243.0 MHz, and 282.8 MHz and 406.025 MHz. Built by Tadiran, the PRC-149 uses standard D cell batteries, unlike other units that took special batteries.
  • AN/PRQ-7 Combat Survivor/Evader Locator (CSEL) combines selective availability GPS, UHF line of sight and UHF satellite communications along with a Sarsat beacon. It can send predefined messages digitally along with the user's location. As of 2008, the PRQ-7 cost $7000 each, "batteries not included." A rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack cost $1600, while a non-rechargeable lithium-manganese dioxide unit cost $1520. As of Oct, 2011 Boeing has delivered 50,000 PRQ-7s.
  • AN/URC-4 - 121.5 and 243 MHz
  • AN/URC-11 - (243 MHz), "A" versions replaced one audio tube with transistors.
  • AN/URC-10 - The RT-10 are subminiaturized, completely transistorized UHF radio sets. They consist of a crystal-controlled receiver-transmitter, a 16-v dry battery, and a power cable assembly. The unit operates on one channel in the 240-260 mc band, usually 243 MHz. RT-60 and RT-60B1 were two frequency versions of the RT-10
  • AN/URC-14 - (121.5 MHz)

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