Raytheon's Airborne Stand-Off Reconnaissance (ASTOR) system is being used for 'sustained' missions as part of Operation Herrick in Afghanistan, despite not yet reaching its full operational capability (FOC), according to UK armed forces.
Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow on 21 July, British Army personnel said two Sentinel R Mk I aircraft were now regularly contributing to the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) intelligence cycle on a daily basis.
However, they added that it had yet to reach a FOC and described current trials over Salisbury Plain, designed to 'enhance' the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) as used on board Sentinel