Missile detection airship makes maiden flight in Utah test range

DUGWAY — The first Utah flight of a system that uses radar mounted on blimp-like airships to detect cruise missiles and other threats was conducted about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.

The Army's Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, made its first test flight from about 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday above the Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range north of the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Ground.

The JLENS system is managed by the Army's Cruise Missile Defense Systems Project Office, at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.

Soaring at up to 10,000 feet above the testing range, the versatile dirigibles or aerostats can be placed nearly anywhere they are needed, including being tethered to a ship at sea, and they are difficult to shoot down because they are inflated at such low air pressure.

Raytheon, headquartered in Waltham, Mass., was awarded the development of the aerostat-borne radar and communications system. In 2007, the Army and Raytheon finalized a $1.4 billion contract modification for the JLENS project.

In addition to being less costly to operate than aircraft-mounted radar, the unmanned dirigibles can stay aloft much longer, and the risk to human life is greatly reduced, according to a Dugway news release.

The 242-foot-long aerostats may be raised, lowered or moved in weather conditions that would ground conventional aircraft. The Utah test was conducted through the cooperative efforts of the Army at the Dugway Proving Ground and Hill Air Force Base.

"Dugway is proud to lead and support this important test that will protect American warfighters, civilians and their allies around the globe," said Dugway's commander, Col. William E. King IV. "Not only will it expand the view well over the horizon, but it will do so at least cost to the taxpayer. This is a critically needed capability as we continue to prosecute the global war on terrorism."

Dugway and the testing range were selected for testing because of the remoteness of the area and its resemblance to the mountainous, arid geography and climate of Afghanistan, where American and allied troops are fighting the Taliban and other insurgents.

The JLENS system consists of two aerostats, with radar and communication equipment, tethered to mobile mooring stations that are connected to ground-based communication and processing equipment. Each aerostat carries a specific radar system — one for fire control and the other for surveillance — and may be aloft for up to 30 days.

The aerostats are inflated at a pressure not much more than the exterior air pressure, making them difficult to shoot down. Operational and other tests are ongoing, and tests during the next three years will train Army soldiers to become the nation's first JLENS battery.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com