Pentagon Has Suspended Its Radar-Carrying Blimp Program (Known As JLENS)

A 2012 report by the Pentagon’s operational testing office faulted the airborne radar system in four “critical performance areas” and rated its reliability as “poor.” (Raytheon)

L.A. Times: Pentagon suspends troubled missile defense system at center of 'runaway blimp'

The Pentagon has suspended indefinitely a trial run of the troubled missile defense system called JLENS, whose giant, radar-carrying blimps were intended to help safeguard the skies over Washington.

The three-year “operational exercise” has been a financial lifeline for JLENS, arranged by supporters of the program after Army leaders tried to kill it.

Any decision whether to resume the exercise will wait until after the Army has completed an investigation into how one of the pilotless blimps broke away from its mooring station in Maryland last week and flew uncontrolled over parts of two mid-Atlantic states, military officials said Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a complete and thorough investigation, and it takes time,” Army spokesman Dov Schwartz said.

Update: Pentagon reportedly suspends missile defense program behind runaway blimp -- FOX News

WNU Editor: This program escaped the latest budget cuts .... Lawmakers Agree To $5 Billion In Defense Cuts, Leave Military Blimp JLENS Totally Untouched (Daily Caller) .... but after the latest fiasco, this program is one step from being terminated.

Huge Blimps Over Washington D.C.

Pentagon To Deploy Huge Blimps Over Washington, DC For 360-Degree Surveillance -- RT

A pair of high-tech Army blimps is coming to the greater Washington, DC area, and soon they will be able to provide the military with surveillance powers that spans hundreds of millions of acres from North Carolina to Niagara Falls, Canada.

The airships are part of Raytheon’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and when all is said and done they’ll offer the United States military what the defense contractor calls “an affordable elevated, persistent over-the-horizon sensor system” that relies on “a powerful integrated radar system to detect, track and target a variety of threats.”

Read more ....

More News On The Deployment Of JLENS (Blimps) Over Washington DC

Army’s Giant Surveillance Blimp to Start Tracking Objects in DC Region -- Defense news
The Army’s Giant Spy Blimp Is Coming To The Washington DC Area -- Business Insider
Blimps that can see for 340 miles will soon be deployed as a missile shield over Washington DC -- Daily Mail
It's a bird, it's a plane: No, it's an Army blimp -- USA Today
Those Drone Blimps Over D.C.? They're to Stop Cruise Missiles -- National Journal
Blimps Over Washington: JLENS Brings Football-Field Sized Anti-Missile Aerostats To Spy On, Protect D.C. (PHOTOS) -- Huffington Post
U.S. Army Finishes User Test On JLENS Aerostat System -- Aviation Week
US Army soldiers test JLENS in real-world scenarios -- Wall Street Journal
A Fleet of Blimps Will Soon Serve as a Missile Shield Over Washington -- Gizmodo
New Surveillance Blimp Stays Aloft For 30 Days Straight -- Popular Science
Look! Up in the sky! It's an antimissile blimp! -- CNet
JLENS, the Military Surveillance Airship, Is Ready for Action -- Popular Mechanics