2009 Space and Missile Defense Conference and Exhibition

Media Kit

News Features

Date posted: 08/14/2009*

The U.S. Army’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, will perform its first flight Aug. 25, beginning at 10 a.m. during a ceremony in Elizabeth City, N.C. It will be flown to 3,000 feet by JLENS aerostat manufacturer TCOM.

“The JLENS first flight will demonstrate the maturity and the operability of the platform,” says Ken Gordon, JLENS program manager within Raytheon’s National Theater & Security Programs (NTSP). Raytheon is the prime contractor and system integrator for JLENS.

“It’s the first time we’ve put our sensors on an aerostat and that’s significant,” says Gordon. “The elevated sensors increase capabilities for detecting and tracking low-altitude targets.”

First Flight Ceremony Scheduled

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, TCOM President and CEO David Barlow, and Pete Franklin, vice president for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems’ NTSP, will attend and speak about the JLENS program during the event. Congressional representatives from Alabama, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina also are invited. A ceremony to celebrate the JLENS first flight also will include a barbecue, music, and a christening of the aerostat.

JLENS Passed Its Critical Design Review Last Year

In December 2008, JLENS successfully conducted a critical design review (CDR), representing a key milestone in the U.S. Army program. The CDR thoroughly assessed all aspects of the JLENS design maturity and confidence for the $1.4 billion system design and demonstration contract. With this milestone completed, the JLENS program transitioned into the fabrication, assembly, integration and test phase.

JLENS Features

JLENS is the first aerostat platform featuring long-duration, wide-area, over-the-horizon detection and tracking of low-altitude cruise missiles and other threats. Its capabilities provide the battlefield commander with enhanced situational awareness and elevated communications, enabling sufficient warning to engage air defense systems and defeat threats. In addition to its battlefield application, JLENS can be used for border surveillance.

JLENS uses two advanced elevated sensor systems to support surface-to-air missile systems in performing over-the-horizon intercepts of land attack cruise missiles. It also detects and tracks large caliber rockets, surface-moving targets and theater ballistic missiles during ascent. Its surveillance sensors perform wide area surveillance and fire control sensor cueing. A multifunctional fire control sensor then performs sector surveillance, provides combat identification support, and supports intercepts.

The JLENS system is designed to fly up to 10,000 feet. Its sensors are deployed on a 74M™ Aerostat tethered to a mobile mooring station and connected to ground-based communication and processing equipment to provide the warfighter with a low-altitude single integrated air picture and the ability to conduct air-directed surface-to-air missile engagements. In addition, JLENS is a highly mobile system designed to be moved and operational within three days.

SHARE CONTENT

| More Options

* The content on this page is classified as historical content. See this important information regarding such content.

Top of the Page