The first Sentinel R Mk I aircraft to have been completed in the UK has today left Raytheon's Broughton facility in North Wales for Greenville, Texas, where it will join the US built aircraft to undertake formal flight testing. The UK aircraft will return in late spring to undertake further flight trials in the UK.
The Sentinel R Mk I, based on a Bombardier Global Express business jet, forms part of the UK Ministry of Defence's Airborne Stand Off Radar (ASTOR) system. The first ASTOR aircraft was modified and integrated in the US while the remaining four Sentinels are being modified by Raytheon Systems Limited (RSL), the prime contractor, in the UK.
Rob Crook, the UK ASTOR Programme Director, said, "This is another key milestone in the ASTOR programme. Adding a second aircraft to the flight test programme gives us significant flexibility in completing our flight test objectives. I am proud of the team at RSL in Broughton for their hard work and dedication to the programme."
