JLENS Airship to Begin Long-term Trial Watching over Washington, D.C.

August 1, 2013

Now, after a six-week-long “test-drive” in the Utah wilderness, U.S. Army soldiers are ready to take full control of Raytheon’s enormous JLENS airships. Next stop: Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, where the twin-radar system will begin a long-term trial watching over Washington, D.C.

JLENS – which is short for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System – is a system of two aerostats, or tethered airships, that float 10,000 feet in the air. The aerostats, each nearly as long as a football field, carry powerful radars that can look deep into enemy territory.

The threat is real
Swarming boats, anti-ship cruise missiles, mine laying ships and unmanned aircraft. These are only some of the dangers the Warfighter faces on the modern battlefield.

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That capability exists today. It’s called JLENS. And it’s made by Raytheon.

JLENS, an affordable elevated, persistent over-the-horizon sensor system uses a powerful integrated radar system to detect, track and target a variety of threats. This capability better enables commanders to defend against threats including hostile cruise missiles, low-flying manned and unmanned aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, large caliber rockets, and moving surface vehicles such as boats, SCUD-launchers, automobiles, and tanks.

What is JLENS?

• A JLENS system, referred to as an orbit, consists of two tethered, 74-meter helium-filled aerostats connected to mobile mooring stations and a communications and processing groups.

•The aerostats fly as high as 10,000 feet above sea level and can remain aloft and operational for up to 30 days.

•One aerostat carries a surveillance radar with 360-degree surveillance capability; the other aerostat carries a fire control radar.

Why is JLENS affordable?
One JLENS orbit can provide the same 24/7 coverage for a 30-day period that 4-5 fixed wing surveillance aircraft (AWACS, JSTARS or E-2C) can provide.

• Depending on the kind of aircraft used, a fixed-wing surveillance aircraft is 500-700% more expensive to operate than a JLENS during that same time period because of manpower, maintenance and fuel costs.

• A JLENS orbit uses less than 50% of the manpower it requires to fly a fixed wing aircraft. (That’s not counting the ground-support personnel required to launch a sortie).