The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defence Elevated Netted
Sensor System known as JLENS designed and developed by Raytheon Company provides
warfighters with enhanced battlefield surveillance
and targeting capabilities against potential threats over long ranges.
It consists of two large, unmanned, helium-filled aerostats. It carries
a radar system designed to detect and track threats such as cruise missiles,
drones, aircraft, large calibre rockets, vehicles, and maritime surface vessels.
Interestingly, this radar system can float up to 10,000 feet and provide 360 degree coverage.
It can also detect threats over the horizon, up to 340 miles away, and can stay airborne for up
to 30 days providing continual protection. The aerostats will fly 24 hours a day, except in
times of severe weather or required maintenance, providing radar coverage of the assigned areas.
This spy balloon integrates with defensive systems such as the Patriot missile defence system,
the Standard Missile 6 employed by Aegis BMD systems, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air
Missiles or AMRAAM, and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System or NASAMS,
as well as other command and control and defensive systems.
Talking about the development of JLENS system, the US Army awarded a $1.3bn contract
modification to Raytheon for the development and demonstration of the JLENS in November 2005.
A $1.4bn design and demonstration contract was also finalised by them in December 2006.
Raytheon completed a successful system functional review of the JLENS in April
2007 followed by a preliminary design review in March 2008.
The critical design readiness reviews were performed on a surveillance radar and a CPG
in November 2008. The JLENS system’s critical design review was completed in February 2009,
while its development testing was completed in December 2013.
When talking about its history, the program was initiated in the
late 1990s and began flight testing at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah in 2010.
At the time, plans called for the Army to procure 14 systems. However,
program director Dean Barten suggested that number
would come down but that “half a dozen systems” would be the “absolute minimum”.
In January 2015, JLENS began a three-year operational exercise based out of Aberdeen
Proving Grounds in Maryland operating in defence of the National Capital Region in
order to decide whether to purchase more than the two orbits currently procured.
In October 2015, the fire control aerostat broke free from its mooring
due to particularly strong winds. Because of a failure in its automatic deflation device,
the aerostat floated through rural Pennsylvania, eventually landing in Moreland Township.
An investigation into the incident found that it was caused by a loss of pressure that caused the
aerostat to become unstable. This, combined with high winds, caused the tether to break.
As a result of the October 2015 incident,
funding for the program was reduced in the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus spending bill.
In March 2016, Congress denied an Army request to reprogram more money to make up the deficits.
Despite these setbacks the Fiscal Year 2017 President’s Budget included continued
program funding after Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter approved resuming the program.
Considering its function, the Army-led joint program which fielded JLENS was
designed to complement fixed-wing surveillance aircraft and provide
military commanders advance warning to make decisions and provide notifications.
Another capabilities is its sensor has a 360-degree field
of vision and can track multiple threats simultaneously up to a range of 340 miles.
One aerostat in the orbit functions as a surveillance radar while the other
one performs fire control functions. The surveillance radar operates at Very High
Frequency band allowing it to scan over a wide area, while the fire control radar
operates in the X-band to provide a precise picture of the threat to the shooters.
Through testing, it has proven its ability to integrate with
both Standard Missile-6 and PATRIOT interceptors.
A JLENS orbit also has a secondary capability to detect vehicles and surface ships and
can operate at altitudes of up to 10,000 feet, which gives them significant range.
They are deployed with a mobile mooring station to secure the tether and hold the
unit in place. The tethers also provide radar control and data links to ground stations.
The
JLENS radars are similar to Federal Aviation Administration or FAA commercial aviation
radars that track and identify aircraft and direct commercial aviation to airports.
The JLENS aerostat flights will be coordinated with the FAA and the
Federal Communications Commission or FCC, and will adhere to all federal safety standards.
The system will only operate when aloft and it poses no radiation
or other dangers to the public or the environment.
The JLENS aerostats cannot see people and do not have cameras onboard.
They are filled with helium and air, which are inert gases that do not burn.
There has never been a tether break in 35 years of testing, and a considerable
care is being taken to protect APG's sensitive wetlands during the exercise, flora and fauna
in particular the bald and golden eagles, both during site construction and during the exercise.
The most important one is that the JLENS adheres to all federal,
state, and local laws and regulations.
That’s all for today, thanks for watching and see you in the next video!