The UK's capability to collect intelligence from airborne platforms will be affected by the impending retirement of the Sentinel R1 and Tornado, but other platforms are poised to fill the gap according to one senior RAF official.
Speaking recently to journalists, the former air component commander for UK operations in Iraq and Syria, Air Cdr Johnny Stringer, said the UK's requirement for ISR will remain high despite a number of planned capability cuts to the RAF’s surveillance fleet in coming years.
These include the retirement of the Sentinel R1 ground surveillance aircraft by 2021 as well as the loss of