| JLENS | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Long-range surface-to-air missile and other threat detection capability Aerostat |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | December 2014-Active testing and operation summarily suspended October 2015. |
| Used by | United States Army |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Raytheon, TCOM |
| Designed | 1998 |
| Manufacturer | Raytheon |
| Unit cost | $175 million (avg unit cost) |
| Produced | 2009 (Block 1) and 2011 (Block 2) |
| No. built | 4 |
| Variants | 1 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) |
| Length | 242 feet or 77 yards (70 m) |
| Diameter | ~80 feet (24 m) |
Main armament | none |
Secondary armament | none |
| Payload capacity | 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) |
| Transmission | Multiple fiber optic links to ground facility |
| Propellant | none |
| Fuel capacity | none |
| Flight ceiling | 10,000 feet (3,000 m) |
Launch platform | tethered cable |
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS (colloquially, Spy Balloon),[1] was a tethered aerial detection system designed to track boats, ground vehicles,[2] cruise missiles, manned and unmanned aircraft (airborne early warning and control), and other threats[specify]. The system had four primary components: two tethered aerostats which utilized a helium/air mix, armored mooring stations, sophisticated radars, and a processing station designed to communicate with anti-missile and other ground and airborne systems. Each system was referred to as an "orbit", and two orbits were built.[3] The Army-led joint program which fielded JLENS was designed to complement fixed-wing surveillance aircraft, saving money on crew, fuel, maintenance and other costs, and give military commanders advance warning to make decisions and provide notifications.[4] Following cost overruns, underperformance, declining support in Congress, and public scrutiny following a snapped tether which allowed one craft moored at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland to drift on a 100-mile uncontrolled descent across Pennsylvania, dragging its cable tether which damaged power lines and cut power to 20,000 homes, the program was suspended in October 2015, and completely discontinued by 2017.
- ^ "Drone-Hunting Blimp To Launch Over Washington". Defense One. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ "Surveillance aircraft floating high above Maryland". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ Beth Stevenson (16 September 2014). "US Army trains on JLENS ahead of first deployment". Flightglobal. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ Dan Vergano (24 July 2013). "It's a bird, it's a plane: No, it's an Army blimp". USA TODAY. Retrieved 3 December 2014.