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.
Pakistan's kill chain of Chinese-origin weapons was likely a bigger factor in shooting down an Indian fighter than the jets' relative strengths, an expert said.