Feb 16 2011
The JLENS (Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System) program from Raytheon Company has demonstrated its ability to transmit from an elevated aerostat, successfully.
During the successful demonstration at the Utah Test and Training Range, the aerostat was deployed 10,000 feet above mean sea level, and, for the first time, radio frequency radiation was emitted from the surveillance radar into free space.
The vice president of National and Theater Security Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Dave Gulla stated that the JLENS program made it possible for fighters to identify cruise missile threats and shield themselves during a war.
The first aerostat platform with a wide-area, long-duration, low-altitude cruise missiles tracking and over-the-horizon identification among other attributes, the JLENS, endows the battlefield commander with elevated communications and better situational awareness, with adequate warning to engage air defense systems and combat threats.
Fire control sensor cueing and surveillance over wide areas is carried out by the surveillance radar, while sector surveillance, combat identification support and extensive range engagements of weapon systems required in combating threats at the maximum achievable range from defended assets is performed by the multifunctional fire control radar. An aerostat with JLENS, deployed on a 74-meter (about 243 feet) can provide the war fighter with the ability to conduct surface-to-air missile engagements, which are air-directed by providing one low-altitude, integrated air picture for better clarity.