Aircraft
Britain’s Sentinel Recon Aircraft Gets an Upgrade
Although still threatened with grounding in 2021, the radar is being improved. Meanwhile, Raytheon is marketing an enhanced version for export.
One of the UK Royal Air Force’s five Sentinel radar reconnaissance aircraft is seen inflight over the Middle East. (Photo: MOD Crown Copyright 2015)
One of the UK Royal Air Force’s five Sentinel radar reconnaissance aircraft is seen inflight over the Middle East. (Photo: MOD Crown Copyright 2015)

Raytheon UK and the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) may have taken another step toward retaining in service the Sentinel R.1 aircraft equipped with a dual-mode reconnaissance radar. They are believed to have just signed a contract for the Integrated Radar Programme (IRP), a redesign that merges the receiver/exciter and the processor. The IRP offers a big saving in size, weight and power.