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
RAF Scampton well as Lincolnshire's aviation engineering heritage and the Dambusters Raid. It is hoped the project will secure the future of the base and compliment the proposals to establish an air show at Scampton. It was hoped that the facility would be opened by 2018 in order to mark the centenary of the creation of the Royal Air Force, however that proved to be somewhat ambitious. The council's current idea is to operate the facility in tandem with continued military activity at the base. The remnants of a Roman Villa are situated to the southwest of RAF Scampton. Excavation of the