Raytheon UK outlines plans for RAF Sentinel’s capability beyond 2015

Raytheon UK has detailed its plans for supporting the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in its requirement to extend the capability of the RAF Sentinel beyond its proposed out-of-service date of 2015.

The current plans for the lifetime extension through 2018 of Sentinel capability will see a number of key investments to both maintain current capability and the delivery of potential improvements to support a broader utilization of the platform. These improvements include Sentinel’s ability to more effectively support surveillance in the maritime domain, through the incorporation of software enhancements to the current dual mode radar, over the next two years.

Raytheon is also reviewing the ground segment support to the platform to better deliver the capability on contingent operations. The current Contract Logistics Support (CLS) is being better tailored with the MoD in order to meet the projected and varied commitments of Sentinel on operations around the world.

“Through tremendous teamwork, Sentinel has delivered a pivotal capability to the UK’s armed forces since its entry into service,” said Richard Daniel, Raytheon UK chief executive. “Raytheon, in support of the Air ISTAR Optimization Study, has submitted options to extend the capability further to include additional sensor payloads, including long range EO/IR and SIGINT.”

Sentinel has been continually deployed since entering service on operations, including Afghanistan, Libya, Mali and now Nigeria, and is acknowledged as a true wide-area surveillance capability for national and multi-national operations. Key are implementation of a maritime mode to the dual mode radar, Satcom system upgrade, and changes to the extant CLS contract to better support the requirements of Sentinel post 2016.