Article Posted on : - Aug 08, 2013

JLENS aerostat flies over Elizabeth City, N.C. demonstrating the cruise missile system's first official flight.Photo: Raytheon

UTAH TEST AND TRAINING RANGE, UTAH (BNS): The U S Army and U S Air Force have for the first time intercepted an anti-ship cruise missile surrogate using the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) cued by JLENS.

During the July 17 test, the Army's JLENS acquired and tracked an anti-ship cruise missile surrogate and passed targeting data to an Air Force F-15E via Link 16, enabling the fighter pilot to fire an AIM-120C7 AMRAAM, culminating in the weapon intercepting the target, meeting all test objectives, Raytheon said.

"Integrating JLENS' precision detection and targeting information with the combat-proven AMRAAM gives our military a new way to defend the fleet and our allies from anti-ship cruise missiles that threaten vital waterways and critical chokepoints," said Dave Gulla, vice president of Global Integrated Sensors for Raytheon's Integrated Defence Systems business.

"JLENS has proven it can defend and extend the battlespace by integrating with Patriot, Standard Missile-6, and now AMRAAM," said Dean Barten, the U S Army's JLENS product manager.

JLENS stands for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System.

It consists of an integrated surveillance and fire-control radar on two tethered, 74-meter aerostats, which fly at altitudes of 10,000 feet above sea level and remain aloft and operational for 30 days.

AMRAAM is a combat-proven missile that has on the F-16, F-15, F/A-18, F-22, Typhoon, Gripen, Tornado, Harrier and F-4.