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Raytheon Sentinel R1 (ASTOR)
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Type (Muster)
Ground-surveillance aircraft (Gefechtsfeldüberwachungsflugzeug)
Country (Land)
USA/United Kingdom (Großbritannien)
Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Raytheon Systems Ltd.
The Pinnacles
Harlow, Essex CM19 58B
UK
Phone: 0044-1279/407581
Fax: 0044-1279/410413
Internet: www.raytheon.co.uk
General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2 in the cockpit and 1 airborne mission commander plus 2 image analysts in the cabin. There is also room for 2 relief crewmembers.
Sensor: Vastly improved Raytheon ASARS-2 as used on U-2, providing images of the battlefield at ranges of around 300 km. The SAR (synthetic aperture radar) produces high resolution images of the terrain and static targets while in the MTI mode it can track moving targets including helicopters in flight. It is able to do this in both 'swath' (wide area) and 'spot' (narrow field of view) modes.
Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x BMW Rolls-Royce BR710A2-10
Thrust (Schub): 2 x 65,6 kN (14750 lbs) flat rated to 20 deg C
Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 30,30 m
Height (Höhe): 7,95 m
Span (Spannweite): 28,65 m
Maximum fuselage diameter (Rumpfdurchmesser): 2,68 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 94,94 sq m
Sweep at 25 % chord (Pfeilung): 35 degrees
Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 14,72 m
Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 2,49 m (half height / in halber Höhe)
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,91 m
Cabin floor area (Kabinenfläche): 31,1 sq m
Cabin volume (Kabinenvolumen): 60,6 cu m including baggage compartment
Weights (Massen)
Empty weight (Leermasse): about 22820 kg
Max. take-off weight (Max. Startmasse): about 43500 kg
Performance (Flugleistungen)
Long range cruise speed (Reisegeschwindigkeit auf langen Strecken): M 0.8 / 459 kts (850 km/h) for the business jet variant
Max. operating altitude (Flughöhe): 12190 to 15000 m
Take-off field length (Startstrecke): about 1775 m (sea level, ISA, max. weight)
Landing field length (Landestrecke): 815 m
Range (Reichweite): roughly 9250 km (5000 NM)
Endurance (Flugdauer) : 11 to 14 hours
Costs (Kosten)
The programme is valued at £800 million (1999). The ASTOR system includes five Global Express aircraft, six Tactical Ground Stations (each consisting of up to four vehicles) and two Operational Level Ground Stations, together with comprehensive training and maintenance facilities, including initial support. Raytheon Systems Limited is also responsible for 10 years of full Contractor Logistic Support, which amouints to around 140 million pounds.
The latest NAO report from November 2005 puts the unit production cost of the Sentinel aircraft at 68,6 million pounds.
Customers (Kunden)
Royal Air Force: 5. The modified Global Express aircraft were to be delivered from 2004, but this was delayed to the fourth quarter of 2006. They are based at Waddington, Lincolnshire and operated by No 5 (AC) Squadron.
Remarks (Bemerkungen)
ASTOR - the Airborne STand-Off Radar - is a ground surveillance system designed to provide information regarding the deployment and movement of enemy forces. It uses state-of-the-art radar technology to obtain high resolution imagery of static features and can also identify and track moving vehicles.
A Global Express commercial business jet aircraft is modified to carry the radar (ASARS-2 derivative) under the forward fuselage, air-to-ground data links (including SATCOM radome on the fuselage) and defensive aids equipment. Delta fins are fitted for aerodynamic reasons.
Imagery gathered by the Sentinel aircraft is transmitted in near-real-time to a network of distributed Ground Stations deployed with front-line forces. Images can be displayed and analysed within the Ground Stations, ensuring that tactical commanders are aware of the latest developments on the ground. ASTOR will be able to interface with the proposed military communications architecture and to be interoperable with other NATO forces.
The Raytheon consortium for ASTOR includes
- Bombardier, including Short Brothers, provides “green” Global Express aircraft
- BAE Systems: delivers five Defensive aids Groups integrated systems for ASTOR, at a value of 30 million US-Dollars. The contract was received in December 2000 by BAE Systems North America in Nashua, N.Y.
- Motorola UK: is providing ground stations and software. It signed a contract valued at 85,5 million US-Dollars with Raytheon in September 2000.
- Matra Marconi
- Rolls-Royce: engines
- Marshal SV
- Ultra Electronics: provides air data terminals (narrowband datalink subsystem), ground data terminals. A 46 million US-Dollar contract was awarded in October 2000.
At the time of contract award, Raytheon said that 2500 jobs will be created or sustained in the UK. Approximately 100 companies throughout the UK, and particularly in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, were expected to participate.
History (Geschichte)
After two years of study work by DERA, a move into project definition was approved in September 1993. Following open competition, two parallel contracts for an 18 month PD programme were let in February 1995.
During the preparation to invite the two PD consortia to submit best and final offers in September 1997, it was decided to consider a third bid based on the US JointSTARS upgrade programme (RTIP). Various unsolicited revisions to the bids were received during the assessment process and the latest of these forced further best and final offers to be sought in January 1999 with responses being received from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon in February of that year.
On 15 June 1999, after a hard fought competition, the Defence Secretary announced that the UK MOD's preferred bidder was Raytheon Systems Limited. Detailed negotiations between the DPA (Defence Procurement Agency) and Raytheon followed, and the contract (worth 800 million pounds / 1,3 billion US-Dollars) was signed at a ceremony at Abbey Wood on 17 December 1999.
In 2001, it was decided to switch from a passive array antenna to an AESA system, as it was deemed that technology risk was low.
On 3 August 2001, an aerodynamically representative airframe (Global Express s/n 9001) began its flight test programme in Wichita. The development aircraft took off from Mid-Continent Airport at 9:05 AM and flew for 3 hours and 18 minutes, conducting a series of tests at altitudes up to 25,000 feet (7,620 m) and speeds up to 250 knots (288 mph, 463 km/h.). It was crewed by Bombardier Flight Test Center pilot Mark Schlegel, co-pilot Pete Reynolds and flight test engineer Scott Runyan.
The first production aircraft was delivered to Raytheon Systems in Greenville, Texas, on 31 January 2002. At that time it was said to be completed in the third quarter of 2003. The remaining airframes will be completed in the UK.
The first ground station vehicle was received by Raytheon Systems from Automotive Technik at Guildford on 27 September 2002.
On 30 October 2002, Bombardier announced that it had completed an extensive aerodynamic validation flight test programme for the ASTOR. The Global Express completed a total of 315 flight hours in 135 flights from the test center in Wichita over a 14 month period. More than 1000 different test points related to the aircraft were evaluated.
The System Critical Design Review (CDR) took place in early October 2002 after a number of smaller CDRs were held. System CDR closure was then achieved in February 2003, thus completing the design stage. In Service Date of September 2005 was still deemed achievable.
The second ASTOR airframe was delivered to Broughton on 29 January 2003.
On 7th March, 2003, Raytheon Systems Limited formally opened the company's new £3.5 million ASTOR facility at its Broughton, North Wales site. Laboratory tests with the ASTOR radar should begin later in 2003. Fitment to the aircraft should then come in 2004, it was said, with a first flight in mid-2004. ASTOR was due to enter service in September 2005 and the complete system will have been delivered by 2007.
The name Sentinel was assigned in May 2003.
All four Global Express aircraft to be modified to Sentinel standard in the UK had arrived at Broughton by late January 2004.
No 5 Squadron was formally stood up on 1 April 2004 at Waddington.
Taking to the air for the first time since its modification from a Bombardier Global Express to a Sentinel R Mk 1, the first ASTOR (Airborne Stand-Off Radar) aircraft flew on May 26, 2004 for 4.4 hours. The flight was made from the L-3 Integrated Systems facility in Greenville, Texas, where the modification and integration work has been carried out under Raytheon's direction.
The ASTOR training programme began in January 2005.
The first test radar was heavily damaged by arcing in laboratory tests in August 2004 and had to be scrapped. This cost Raytheon around 55 million US-Dollars, slicing much of the profit margin of the programme. So Raytheon could not report installation of the first radar until 27 June 2005. This led to a revision of the planned in service date from September 2005 to November 2006 (+ 14 months)., although other tasks like icing tests and equipment validation had been performed beforehand.
The maiden flight of the first UK-built Sentinel R1 (ZJ691) took place on 25 July 2005 form Hawarden Airfield (Broughton). Peter Collins from Raytheon and Sqn Leader Tim Butler, RAF project pilot, were in the cockpit. The flight lasted for four hours.
In late October 2005, the first SAR imagery was produced during test flights in the USA. As of December, aircraft no. 1 was well into its series of check flights, while no. 2 in the UK had completed its first flight test phase.
To speed up radar verification testing, the second Sentinel R1 (the first modified in the UK), left Raytheons facility in Broughton for Greenville, Texas, on 16 March 2006. It had received its radar early in the year.
Aircraft number 3 (ZJ692) flew in Sentinel configuration in the summer of 2006.
The first public demonstration of the Sentinel (aircraft ZJ692) was at the Waddington air show in July 2006, followed by a large presence at the Farnborough air show, also in July. At this time it was said that the first aircraft and ground station should be delivered before October, with the second Sentinel R1 and all ground stations following in the fourth quarter of 2006. Aircraft 3 to 5 should be with the RAF by mid-2007.
Also in July 2006, Raytheon Systems Limited announced that it had delivered the Operational Training Subsystem to the UK MoD. All the elements of the logistics support were in place as well.
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