By Craig Hoyle2021-03-01T17:03:00+00:00 The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has flown its last operational sortie with a Raytheon Sentinel R1 ground surveillance aircraft, with the modified business jet fleet leaving use after only 14 years of service. Flown on 26 February from the service’s intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft hub at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, the sortie brought operations by its 5 Sqn to an end. Source: Crown Copyright Adapted Global Express performed last operational flight on 26 February Acquired via the UK’s Airborne Stand-off Radar (ASTOR) competition, the Sentinel fleet totalled five heavily-adapted Bombardier Global Express airframes. The type’s primary sensor was a ground surveillance radar installed within a canoe faring beneath the fuselage.