The Los Angeles Times has published a story critical of JLENS, the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System. Begun in 1998, the program is intended to track airborne objects", according to an Army spokesperson, but the Army acknowledged that it can also monitor road-going vehicles and watercraft, a capability that has raised concern about mass surveillance. Built by Raytheon, the system includes two blimp-like tethered balloons, equipped with radar sets. Power and data are carried over the 15,000-foot (4.6 km) cables by which the balloons are moored.
Unknown to most Americans, the Pentagon has spent $2.7 billion developing a system of giant radar-equipped blimps to provide an early warning if the country were ever attacked with cruise missiles, drones or other low-flying weapons.
After nearly two decades of disappointment and delay, the system — known as JLENS — had a chance to prove its worth on April 15. That day, a Florida postal worker flew a single-seat, rotary-wing aircraft into the heart of the nation's capital to dramatize his demand for campaign finance reform.
[...] Seventeen years after its birth, JLENS is a stark example of what defense specialists call a "zombie" program: costly, ineffectual and seemingly impossible to kill.
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In Maryland, a balloon from JLENS (Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System) broke loose from its tether. The balloon eventually descended to the ground, but its dragging cable caused an electrical outage affecting 30,000 or 35,000 people. The Secretary of Defense promised to catch the balloon and fly it again.
Coverage can be found from a multitude of sources:
The Energy Education Council offers safety tips for helium balloons.
We previously covered JLENS in September with: JLENS Balloons Still Not Warning US of Cruise Missiles which has more background on the system.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 26 2015, @12:22AM
That's because the point of the programs aren't to create a useful product, or to accomplish their claimed goals, but to funnel money into the pockets of private individuals. And they work exactly as designed.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Saturday September 26 2015, @12:51AM
At least it's a Good-Ol' Capitalist competitive market: Lockeed has the PTDS, which is essentially the same thing.
(Score: 5, Funny) by frojack on Saturday September 26 2015, @01:16AM
All evidence suggests that these baloons have been 100% effective against cruise missile attacks on their coverage area.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 26 2015, @02:54AM
IIRC JLENS does more than just cruise missiles and it has been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.
Its actually the surveillance uses we ought to be concerned about. Especially when deployed in the US to surveil the citizenry.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday September 26 2015, @03:56AM
Swamped.
If you have a device designed to spot a vehicle or a cruise missile, how does it deal with 10 million cars a day.
Its useless for surveillance.
Might be useful for spotting traffic where traffic is unusual. But useless where traffic is the norm.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 26 2015, @04:06AM
If you have a device designed to spot a vehicle or a cruise missile, how does it deal with 10 million cars a day.
Its useless for surveillance.
Your premise is false and pretty naive actually. It is a stationary platform in the sky. You assume that they can't put a ton of cameras up there. Repurposing is easy, especially when you a billion dollar budget.
The cops have already been experimenting with total aerial surveillance via aircraft over Compton. [theatlantic.com] Putting on that on a blimp would probably be even cheaper.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday September 26 2015, @06:39PM
Compton case was a joke.
That can't be done. In the real world airplanes move too fast to keep all parts of a city in view, cameras have far too low resolution to show usable detail. They went up and took high res photos, but not of the entire city in real time, and not significantly better than Google Earth photos of downtown Seattle (which were taken by aircraft, not satellites).
You simply can't hang enough cameras on your blimp to follow every one of those 10 million cars. You'd probably need a dozen such balloons over the DC metro area to even attempt such a thing, so the point where aircraft flight would be severely endangered.
You have a hard time distinguishing between tv make-believe and reality.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 27 2015, @02:12AM
Compton case was a joke.
That can't be done.
You've got to do more than a bald assertion. Let's seem someone with more credentials than a pseudonym on some rando small fry website.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday September 26 2015, @04:39AM
"Check out that balloon!"
"Hey, they're surveilling us!"
*smartphone buzzes in pocket*
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 26 2015, @05:11AM
In Iraq the locals thought the americans were using them to steal their women.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Saturday September 26 2015, @08:58AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 4, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 26 2015, @01:59AM
"I'm sorry, General, but I just can't find more than one cruise missile in eight. That's the best we've ever done. But, we do have a complete video collection of your daughter at the beach, your daughter's first date, your daughter in the shower, you daughter doing the high school short stop . . . "
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.