RAYTHEON SENTINEL 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 89Above
Five Sentinels were
delivered to the RAF
from 2008 but one
airframe was retired
in early 2017. This
example is ZJ961.
ANDY HAY/WWW.
FLYINGART.CO.UKA Sentinel takes off
from its home base
at RAF Waddington.
CROWN COPYRIGHTThe Sentinel has been
in RAF service since
2008 and is set to
operate until 2021.
CROWN COPYRIGHTan active imaging sensor, therefore
allowing the crew to identify, track
and visualise numerous targets
over vast ranges... and pass the
information to friendly forces in
near-real time.
The aircraft includes a defensive
aids system that comprises a towed
radar decoy, missile approach
warning system and chaff and flare
dispensers. It can be operated in
automatic, semi-automatic or
manual mode.
A team of intelligence imagery
analysts from 1 Intelligence,
Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR)
Wing backs up the Sentinel crews,
conducting what the RAF refers
to as “in-depth forensic analysis
of collected data, and using it to
generate intelligence products
for time-critical dissemination
to commanders and decision
makers, enabling them to execute
current operations and plan future
strategies.”
The aircraft normally operates
above 40,000ft (12,192m) to ensure
a high-resolution view of a large
battlefield area, and is crewed by a
pilot, co-pilot, Airborne Mission
Commander and two image analysts.
Initially, the Sentinel was operated
by a mix of both RAF and Army
personnel but in recent years it has
become the sole responsibility of
the air force. Mission endurance is
approximately nine hours.SAVED FROM RETIREMENT
The Sentinel was originally slated
for retirement following the
cessation of Operation Herrick in
Afghanistan in 2014. However,
such was the aircraft’s value to both
British and allied forces alike, it
was given a reprieve. Since then it
has continued to prove its worth,
particularly supporting British
forces tackling terrorist activity
during Operation Shader.
In January 2013 one of the RAF’s
Sentinels operated from RAF
Waddington in support of French
operations in Mali, and in February
2014 it was Sentinel that mapped
the scale of flooding in Southern
England following heavy storms.
Prime Minister David Cameron
reversed the decision to stand
down Sentinel in 2014, and 2015’s
Strategic Defence and Security
Review declared it would remain in
service “into the next decade”.
It is thought the out of service
date is currently March 2021 – and
although one aircraft was retired
in April 2017 to reduce costs,
the remaining four are expected
to receive updates to address
obsolescence issues relating to
the radar, mission system and
satellite communications.