The custom-made Boeing B777 was inducted last year to replace the ageing 747 used to fly the President of India, Vice President and the Prime Minister on international state visits. The aircraft will be specially retrofitted with the latest self-defence protection suite for VVIP transport duties.
The aircraft was originally owned by Air India, and has been handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF), which will use it to ferry the Prime Minister, the President and the Vice President. The new aircraft has a call sign ‘Air India One’. These are a duo of identical aircrafts that have been modified have cost approximately Rs 8,400 crore.
The B777 planes will have state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS). In terms of livery, the aircraft dons the national emblem and the name ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ written in both Hindi and English on either sides of the aircraft, while the national flag is present on the tail wing.
The aircraft is operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force and not of Air India. However, the new wide-body planes will be maintained by Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), which is a subsidiary of the Indian national carrier. The planes can reportedly fly between India and the US in one go without having to stop for refuelling.
The Air India One planes have similar security measures as the Air Force One planes used by the US President. Similar to the Air Force One, the Air India One aircraft also has Self-Protection Suites and massive office space with conference cabins.
In February 2020, the US agreed to sell the two defence systems to India at a cost of $190 million. These planes are equipped with advanced communication systems.
The aircraft was scheduled to arrive in India in July 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the handing over of the retro-fitted aircraft was delayed. It had initially served in the fleet of Air India in 2018 before being flown back to a Boeing facility in San Antonio, Texas, where it was fitted with the latest air defence protection technology.
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What does the POTUS fly in?
In the year 1953, Eastern Airlines’ Flight 8610 and the Air Force Flight 8610 almost fell prey to a flight mix-up which could’ve resulted in a deadly collision. Fortunately, they didn’t. It was more fortunate since one of the flights was carrying the then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was due to this incident that the US government decided to have a separate bird for the President of the United States (POTUS).
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Designed to be a ‘flying White House’, the Boeing 747-200B, also known as ‘Air Force One, is presently the aircraft used to carry POTUS around the world. It is interesting to note that Air Force One is not a name of an aircraft, but a callsign for the US Air Force (USAF), for any plane that has the POTUS in it. However, currently, the 747s are officially the Air Force One aircraft for the US Airforce, which has designated the aircraft as VC-25A. The tail codes of these aircraft are 28000 and 29000 (pronounced as ‘2-8-thousand’).
The Air Force One aircraft(s) (as there are two!) are heavily modified and guarded, with the capacity to withstand a nuclear bomb explosion. Spanning across an area of 4,000 square feet, the Air Force One is equipped with an oval office, situation room, conference/dining room, radar jamming, flares, and a private suite with a small gym, bathroom-cum-shower, and comfortable sleeping quarters for the President. In addition, the aircraft is loaded with roughly 85 phone lines.
The pilots for Air Force One are chosen by the US Air Force, with a minimum criterion of 2,500 hours of flying fighter jet and other military aircraft, and almost two decades of services for the USAF. Among 12,395 pilots and 329,839 Air Force Personnel, 80 pilots and 89 large flight crew are picked for the services of Air Force One. Joint Base Andrews in Maryland is the official base for the presidential fleet.
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