JLENS

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.