The U.S. Army’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Sensor System (JLENS) demonstrated its first flight on August 25, 2009, during a ceremony in Elizabeth City, N.C. The event demonstrated the first time the aerostat was flown to an altitude of 3,000 feet. TCOM, the JLENS aerostat manufacturer, flew the aerostat. In addition, the JLENS first flight ceremony included U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Genaro Dellarocco, TCOM President and CEO David Barlow, and Pete Franklin, vice president for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems’ National & Theater Security Programs, who attended and spoke about the JLENS program during the event.

The JLENS first flight was held to prove the maturity and the operability of the JLENS platform. It is the first aerostat platform featuring long-duration, wide-area, over-the-horizon detection and tracking of low-altitude cruise missiles. Its capabilities provide the battlefield commander with enhanced situational awareness and elevated communications, enabling sufficient warning to engage air defense systems and defeat threats. 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 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.