MILITARY SPECIAL MISSIONS AIRCRAFT
P
erhaps better known for
its radar and weapons
programmes, US
defence manufacturer,
Raytheon is actively
marketing tactical and
strategic intelligence,
surveillance and
reconnaissance (ISR)
solutions on platforms
such as the Beechcraft King Air 350
and the Gulfstream 550 and Bombardier
Global business jets. Raytheon is currently
modifying two Gulfstream G550 aircraft
for an unnamed customer and is in active
discussions with at least three other
customers from around the globe.
Speaking at the recent Paris Air Show,
Raytheon’s Vice-President of Business
Development, Space and Airborne Systems,
Jim Hvizd, said the company’s special
mission aircraft market share over the last
five years has been a little over $2 billion and
he sees the market growing at a substantial
rate. He said: “We see an appetite across
the globe to have mission systems that are
capable of standing off further and able to
conduct longer endurance missions. We see
the market growing for the foreseeable future.We’ve gone from our Sentinel programme to
having two active production programmes
currently underway and have active
conversations with another three countries.”Sentinel and Shadow
Based on the Bombardier Global Express,
the RAF’s Sentinel R1 fills a UK Ministry
of Defence Airborne Stand-Off Radar
(ASTOR) requirement. The aircraft entered
service in 2008 and provides a long-range
wide-area battlefield surveillance capability
to provide critical intelligence and target
tracking information to ground forces. Four
aircraft are based at RAF Waddington with
No.V(AC) Squadron.
The heart of Sentinel’s ISR mission suite
is an active electronically scanned array
surveillance radar with synthetic aperture
and ground moving target indicator modes.
A Sentinel operates with a standard crew
comprising two pilots, a mission commander
and two image analysts. A ground-based
component of the ASTOR system, dubbed the
land segment, consists of two transportable
operational level ground stations and six
mobile tactical ground stations.
According to Hvizd, the RAF’s Sentinel
aircraft provide a major contribution toNATO and fly most days. In October 2016,
Raytheon was awarded a £131 million
contract to extend its contract to manage
support services for the Sentinel programme
until 2021, but recent reports suggest the
capability will be axed to save money. As
part of the UK’s 2016 Strategic Defence and
Security Review, No.V(AC) Squadron was
scheduled to reduce its fleet by one aircraft.
Sentinel R1 ZJ693 (c/n 9132) entered local
storage at Waddington in mid-May and
was transferred to Hawarden on May 23 for
storage. Five aircraft were procured.
The RAF has a layered approach to ISR
and the tactical component is filled by
another Waddington-based unit, No.14
Squadron, which operates five Shadow
R1 aircraft, based on the Beechcraft King
Air 350CER platform, in the intelligence,
surveillance, target acquisition and
reconnaissance role. A sixth (unmodified)
aircraft is used for training, retaining its
civilian registration marks. In 2015, it was
announced the fleet would be increased
from five to eight operational units,
beginning in 2019. This fleet expansion will
reportedly include two new-build aircraft
and conversion of the training aircraft to
operational configuration.Raytheon is the provider of the majority of the UK’s current intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance platforms, in the shape of the Sentinel R1 and Shadow R1
Raytheon Special Missions Aircraft
Full spectrum ISR: