Yesterday the final Sentinel R.1 that was stored at RAF Waddington departed its former home base to Hawarden Airport in Wales where further works will be carried at a Raytheon facility.
The aircraft were first earmarked for scrap but it seems that after a bid from Raytheon USA and Bombardier it was decided that the aircraft will be sold to the U.S. Army.
The aircraft registered N690BD was the last to leave RAF Waddington after the type’s withdrawal from service in March 2021.
The Sentinel is based on the Bombardier BD700-1A10 Global Express business jet, the first of five ordered for the Royal Air Force was handed over in 2002.
Sentinel R1 ZJ694 (callsign Ascot 7303) had the honor of flying the final operational sortie of this type on February 25, 2021. The aircraft overflew Poland and Lithuania while gathering data on military activity in the Belarusian and Kaliningrad (Russia) regions.
