Raytheon, a manufacturer of air-to-air, land combat missiles, surface Navy air defense, guided projectiles, strike, exoatmospheric kill vehicles and directed energy weapons, has announced that the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) has successfully completed the Demonstration Test 1 (DT-1), thus demonstrating its capability of tracking targets and integrating with tactical data and fire control link systems.
Raytheon’s JLENS aerostat
The demonstration tests were held at the Utah Training and Test Range last year and included tracking of surface water and moving ground targets.
The Vice President - Global Integrated Sensors at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, David Gulla stated that the month-long demonstration test held in Nov-Dec 2011 proves the capability of the JLENS in tracking low-flying cruise missiles, fighter aircrafts, moving surface targets and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Program Director for JLENS, Mark Rose stated that the JLENS is also capable of transmitting target data over control and command systems and can interface with combat identification support systems such as the IFF to differentiate between hostile and friendly missiles and aircrafts.
Later this year, the JLENS will demonstrate in live-fire tests, its ability to identify airborne threats and communicate the targeting data to defense systems. The JLENS system features two, 74 m tethered aerostats for lifting fire-control and surveillance radar. It is the first aerostat platform capable of tracking low-altitude cruise missiles and over-the-horizon detection, and has been designed to provide warfighters with unparalleled situational awareness and communication capabilities.