Royal Air Force and replacement by the F-35, the RAF Lossiemouth-based 15 (Reserve) Squadron (the Tornado Operational Conversion Unit) was disbanded in March 2017. Lightning: On 23 November 2015 it was announced that a total of 138 F-35Bs will be ordered. 617 (The Dambusters) Squadron officially reformed on 18 April 2018 as an RAF Lightning Squadron. The first four aircraft arrived at RAF Marham on 7 June 2018. The Sentry AEW1, based at RAF Waddington, provides airborne early warning to detect incoming enemy aircraft and to co-ordinate the aerial battlefield. The Sentinel R1 (formally known as ASTOR – Airborne STand-Off Radar) provides a
John Cunningham (RAF officer) flying memorabilia passed to the de Havilland Aircraft Company Trust. The medals were subsequently sold for £384,000 to raise funds for the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust Appeal on 7 September 2012. John Cunningham (RAF officer) John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham (27 July 1917 – 21 July 2002) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter ace during the Second World War and a test pilot. During the war he was nicknamed "Cat's Eyes" by the British Press to explain his successes and to avoid communicating the existence of airborne radar to the enemy. Born in Croydon, as a teenager