Royal Air Force's eye in the sky returns from Afghanistan

U.K. Ministry of Defence officials have revealed that the Royal Air Force's latest "eye in the sky" has returned from its trials in Afghanistan. The ASTOR (Airborne Stand-Off Radar) system on the Sentinel R1 aircraft was used to gather vital information for forces in the fight against the Taleban.

The aircraft can detect and recognize moving, static, and fixed targets on the ground, and they are capable of operating for more than nine hours at a time. The information gathered is transmitted to ground stations to enable rapid tactical planning and the efficient cueing of assets.

ASTOR has successfully used by Number 5 (AC) Squadron based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

During a visit to RAF Waddington to see the new system, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said:

"This hugely sophisticated system has already demonstrated what it can do
to support operations in Afghanistan. In a trial of the system last year,
the Sentinel aircraft and its associated ground stations proved they can
feed information about the movements of enemy forces to Ground Commanders
in near real time.

"The Airborne Stand Off Radar system is a key element of the modern
network-enabled battlefield, through which our forces can learn about the
movement of enemy forces and react to prevent those threats to our troops."

Group Captain Harry Kemsley, Officer Commanding 5 (Army Cooperation) Squadron:

"5 (AC) Squadron personnel and supporting elements continue to build on the
lessons identified from their recent operational experiences in order to
further develop the capability of ASTOR. The utility of the system across
both military and humanitarian spectrums is significant and wide ranging,
and we are working closely with potential customers to ensure that our
training is relevant and targeted to their requirements."

Major Will Tosh, Intelligence Corps, Detachment Commander said:

"The ASTOR system was closely embedded within 3 Commando Brigade and provided
a near real-time, wide area search capability on operations for the first
time. It worked in unison with troops on the ground delivering timely
intelligence and situational awareness to those on the front line."

In the culmination of the £954 million contract, Raytheon Systems Ltd has now
delivered the last in a batch of five aircraft to Number 5 (AC) Squadron. The
contract also includes eight mobile ground stations. Raytheon will continue
to deliver support services to the system over the next 10 years.

MOD Defence Equipment and Support ASTOR team leader Bill Chrispin said:

"Delivery of the final aircraft is a huge milestone for us and for our
contractor. Now our work will concentrate on achieving the full operational
capability of the system at the earliest opportunity."