May 20, 2014 10.09 am This story is over 124 months old

RAF Waddington Sentinel breaks down on way to Nigeria mission

Not there yet: The Sentinel surveillance plane sent from RAF Waddington to help search for the kidnapped Nigerian girls has broken down en route.

The Sentinel reconnaissance aircraft sent from RAF Waddington to help search for the kidnapped Nigerian girls has broken down en route.

The 5 (Army Cooperation) Squadron aircraft left Lincolnshire on Sunday morning, but had technical difficulties and was forced to land in Senegal for repairs, according to Reuters and Telegraph.

The RAF Sentinel will be based in Accra, Ghana, for the search operation. Currently, it is still 1,300 miles away from its destination.

It will join American aircraft to search for some 200 missing girls who were abducted last month by Islamist group Boko Haram.

Sentinel R1 aircraft, based at RAF Waddington, can detect and recognise moving, static and fixed targets on the ground and are capable of operating for over nine hours at a time. Photo: MoD

Sentinel R1 aircraft, based at RAF Waddington, can detect and recognise moving, static and fixed targets on the ground and are capable of operating for over nine hours at a time. Photo: MoD