The ASTOR is to be known as Sentinel R1 in RAF service. The first production aircraft was delivered to Raytheon in February 2002 for integration of the ASTOR system.
The first ground station vehicle was delivered in October 2002. The first ASTOR Sentinel aircraft made its maiden flight in May 2004, the second in July 2005.
The first Sentinel R1 aircraft was delivered to the RAF in June 2007. The remaining aircraft are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2007. Operational deployment is expected by the end of 2008.
from:-
http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/astor/
It is obvious (from the above) that ASTOR is not a current option (even if it was role-competent) as it won't be operational until 'end of 2008'.
Question:- Does it
really take twelve to eighteen months to go from system delivery to operational deployment?