Sentinel
Sentinel R. 1 ZJ690
Type	ASTOR
Manufacturer	Raytheon
Maiden flight	26 May 2004
Introduced	2005
Status	Operational
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Number built	5
Developed from	Bombardier Global Express

Raytheon Prototype 9001

ZJ692, aircraft No. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts Raytheon Company ( is a major American Defense contractor and industrial corporation with core Manufacturing concentrations in Defense systems The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place This is a list of Aviation -related events from 2004: Events January 2 - Several British Airways flights from This is a list of Aviation -related events from 2005: Events January January 18 - The world's largest passenger plane the WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 3, takes off from the Mojave Spaceport during a vist to the National Test Pilot School

ZJ692 lifts from Runway 08 at Mojave

Closeup of the Sentinel's radar pod

The Raytheon Sentinel is under development as the RAF's ASTOR (Airborne STand-Off Radar) aircraft. The National Test Pilot School (NTPS is the only civilian school of the seven largest Test pilot schools in the world Raytheon Company ( is a major American Defense contractor and industrial corporation with core Manufacturing concentrations in Defense systems It will be a joint asset with the British Army, providing battlefield and ground surveillance in a similar role to the American E-8 JSTARS aircraft. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout ASTOR will be totally interoperable with allied systems such as JSTARS and the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system.

Design and development

The first flight of a modified Bombardier Global Express was in August 2001 which validated the modifications required for the ASTOR system. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout This is a list of Aviation -related events from 2001 Events March March 29 - An Avjet charter flight, a Gulfstream III The first production Sentinel R1 made its 4. 4 hour maiden flight on May 26 2004. Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place This is a list of Aviation -related events from 2004: Events January 2 - Several British Airways flights from The initial operating capability will be achieved in 2008.

The original contracts call for a total of five aircraft, eight mobile ground stations (six on wheeled all terrain vehicles and two in air transportable containers), and extensive training facilities at the main RAF station.

The ASTOR cockpit features a new centrally housed, pull-down screen capable of displaying a moving map, Link 16 datalink information and defensive aids subsystem (DASS) data. Link 16 is a Military inter-computer Data exchange format of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation The DASS comprises a towed radar decoy, missile approach warning system and chaff and flare dispensers and can be operated in automatic, semi-automatic or manual mode.

The aircraft will normally fly at over 15,000 m (40,000 ft) to ensure a high resolution view of a large battlefield area. It will be crewed by a pilot, a co-pilot, an Airborne Mission Commander (AMC) and 2 image analysts. Mission endurance should be about 9 hours. While the image analysts can analyse the images on board the aircraft it is expected that, unlike the JSTARS, the actual battle management will occur on the ground.

The radar which provides this capability is supplied by Raytheon Systems Ltd. Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships (RSL), the UK subsidiary of Raytheon. Raytheon Company ( is a major American Defense contractor and industrial corporation with core Manufacturing concentrations in Defense systems It is a next-generation dual-mode Synthetic Aperture / Moving Target Indication (SAR/MTI) radar based on proven technology previously used in Raytheon’s ASARS-2 system. Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR is a form of Radar in which the highly-directional (and thus very large rotating antenna used by conventional radar is replaced with many low-directivity Moving target indication ( MTI) is a mode of operation of a Radar to discriminate a target against clutter. ASARS-2 is the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System carried on some variants of the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft The radar is installed on a heavily modified Bombardier business jet - the Global Express, which will be known as the Sentinel R1 in RAF service. Bombardier Inc (bɔ̃baʁdje is a Canadian conglomerate, founded by Joseph-Armand Bombardier as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée in 1942 WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The aircraft is powered by the same engines used in the Nimrod MRA4 upgrade programme, the Rolls-Royce BR710. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The aircraft is based at RAF Waddington and operated by 5 Sqn. RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. No 5 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the operator of the new Sentinel R1 Airborne STand-Off Radar (ASTOR

The image to the right shows prototype 9001, a Global Express development aircraft belonging to Bombardier, carrying the external fairings and antennas of the radar and communications systems that will be fitted on the production aircraft. However it is substantially different in other areas, such as the number of portholes and military colours.

While suffering from delays the project is one of few procurement projects to be below cost estimates.

Specifications

• Length: 99 ft 5 in (30. 31m)
• Wingspan: 93 ft 6 in (28. 51m)
• Height: 27 ft (8. 23m)
• Wing area: 1022 ft² (95m²
• Empty weight: 54,000 lb (24,500kg)
• Maximum Ramp Weight: 93,750 lbs (42524kg)
• Maximum Gross Takeoff Weight: 93,500 lbs (42411kg)
• Maximum Landing Weight: 78,600 lbs (35652kg)
• Maximum Zero Fuel Weight: 56,000 lbs (25401kg)
• Engine: 2 BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 @ 14,750 lbst
• Maximum speed: Mach 0. 89
• Cruising speed: Mach 0. 80
• Range: 6,500 nm
• Service Ceiling: 51,000 ft
• Armament: none
• User Countries UK

External links

• Raytheon: ASTOR
• ASTOR is born

See also

• Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)
  

Related development

• Bombardier Global Express
  

Comparable aircraft

• E-8 Joint STARS
  

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force