Raytheon announced Feb. 18 that it has supplied the fifth and final Sentinel R Mk 1 aircraft to the Royal Air Force at RAF Waddington, Britain, thereby completing delivery of all equipment for the airborne stand-off radar air-to-ground surveillance capability, or ASTOR for short. Quentin Davies, British Minister for Defence Equipment & Support, said at the event marking the aircraft’s delivery to Waddington’s 5 (AC) Squadron that ASTOR represents “a major capability’ for Britain. “I would like to congratulate Raytheon for doing a first-rate job in bringing us this advanced technology. This system will save lives,” he said. The ASTOR system includes five Sentinel aircraft, eight ground stations, support vehicles, and a support infrastructure. The MoD recently took ASTOR elements to Afghanistan on a trial deployment. “Operational feedback indicates that this system exceeds expectations and that this capability has wide utility value,” said Sir Robert Hayman-Joyce, chairman of Raytheon Systems Limited’s board of directors. RAF officials said ASTOR will help to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices.
Skyborg Makes First Flight Aboard Kratos Mako
May 5, 2021
The Skyborg software and hardware suite allowing unmanned aircraft to team with crewed ones flew for the first time April 29, the Air Force said, launching a series of experiments meant to prove the safety and effectiveness of the approach.