Fly Past

94 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS

BEECHCRAFT

SHADOW

2009 TO PRESENT

I

t may be small and unassuming

but the Shadow R.1 is one of

the most vital aircraft in

today’s RAF.

Befitting its name, little is officially

known about it and its specific

capabilities, but the derivative of

the Beechcraft King Air is known

to operate in the intelligence,

surveillance, target acquisition and

reconnaissance (ISTAR) role and

is based with 14 Squadron at RAF

Waddington near Lincoln.

American forces have been using

variants of the ubiquitous King Air

twin-turboprop business aircraft in

military roles since the early 1960s,

subsequently creating a family of

capable reconnaissance machines.

The modern King Air 350 forms

the basis for the latest variant,

which has flown with the US

military as the MC-12 since 2008.

The aircraft was introduced to

urgently improve intelligence

gathering over Afghanistan, and a

similar requirement led the RAF to

commission its own version.

Delivered to V Army

Cooperation (AC) Squadron at

RAF Waddington in 2009, the

Shadow features an under-fuselage

electro-optical sensor turret,

integrated sensors and extensive

communications capability,

managed from operator consoles in

the cabin.

Its main role is to improve a

military commander’s awareness

of what is happening on the

ground or in the air, allowing them

to formulate sound plans in an

operational environment. It is a

powerful tool, indispensable

when conducting modern

ISTAR operations.

The original contract called for

four Shadows, but a fifth example

and dedicated King Air trainer

were added at a later stage. The

UK government also committed to

adding a further three as part of its

2015 Strategic Defence and Security

Review (SDSR).

When the 2010 SDSR resulted in

the RAF’s 14 Squadron disbanding

as a Tornado unit the ‘number plate’

was passed to the Shadow ‘flight’

within V(AC) Squadron and the

unit then became a separate entity.

It remains at RAF Waddington and

operates alongside the RAF’s other

ISTAR fleets.

ADVANCED SYSTEMS

Developed by Raytheon, the

Shadow is optimised to provide

manned tactical aerial surveillance

duties for UK Special Forces.

Power comes from a pair of

850shp (634kW) Pratt & Whitney

PT6A turboprops, optimised to

be as quiet as possible to allow

undetected operations behind

enemy lines.

Above

The Shadow R.1 fl eet

is based at RAF

Waddington, near

Lincoln, as part of the

ISTAR group of systems.

CROWN COPYRIGHT

1918 2018