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.
President Donald Trump wants his signature Golden Dome missile defense program to be up and running before the end of his term and has tapped Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein to lead the project.