December 18, 2020 2.07 pm
This story is over 18 months old
RAF Waddington to lose Sentry fleet after 30 years
Huge blow for local supply chain economy
Seven E-3D Sentry surveillance aircraft are based at RAF Waddington, where they are operated by Nos 8 and 23 Squadrons as the UK’s contribution to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force. | Photo: Cpl Paul Saxby/MoD
The RAF’s latest surveillance aircraft, replacing the E-3D Sentry at RAF Waddington, will not stay in Lincolnshire and will instead be based in Scotland.
The E-7 Wedgetail is set to succeed the E-3D Sentry aircraft once the Sentry retires at the end of 2022, after 31 years in operation.
The retirement of the Sentry does also mean a change of scenery for its replacement, with the Wedgetail expected to be based at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland.
This is a return to the old home of the RAF’s 8 Squadron, after moving from Lossiemouth to Waddington in 1991 when the E-3D Sentry replaced the Shackleton aircraft.
In addition to this, 5 Squadron, along with five aircraft, are being withdrawn from service in 2023, and 51 Squadron are transferring to Mildenhall.
However, RAF Waddington will soon be the new permanent home for the Red Arrows, but it is not believed that this is connected to the decision to keep the Wedgetail in Moray.
These changes will leave RAF Waddington with just the 14 Squadron, impacting thousands of jobs both on station and in the surrounding area.
Lincoln MP Karl McCartney said: “This is disappointing news to those who had hoped the Wedgetail would be based at RAF Waddington, as the E-3D Sentry has since it first started operations with the RAF.
“I have been assured that RAF Waddington, as the RAF’s Intelligence, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance hub – remains a vital RAF station and will do so well into the future.
“Furthermore, it is important that we note RAF Waddington is still set to grow, with the new Protector force and the RAF Aerobatics Team (The Red Arrows) already announced as future arrivals on base, a further sign of the RAF’s continued investment in Lincolnshire.”
Defence Minister Baroness Goldie said: “Scotland’s proximity to the waters and skies of the North Atlantic is of crucial importance to the UK’s and Nato’s security – this is why important military bases such as HMNB Clyde and RAF Lossiemouth are located here.
“The decision to base the E-7 Wedgetail at RAF Lossiemouth demonstrates our commitment to investing in Scotland, and will complement and expand upon the success of Typhoon fast jet and submarine hunting Poseidon operations.”
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A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
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