Air India One - India's New VVIP carrier
India is soon set to receive 2 heavily modified Boeing-777-300ER aircrafts exclusively for VVIP travel. These aircrafts will be used by the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister for their visits to foreign nations. For the past few years, the government uses the Air India's B747 aircrafts for foreign visits. The call sign of aircraft when used by PM/President/Vice President is "Air India One". This is similar to the "Air Force One" used by the President of the United States.
The delivery of the airplanes were scheduled between June and July 2020 but have been delayed due to COVID19. Boeing has requested for an extension and expected arrival of the modified aircrafts is September/October 2020.
India's new modified VVIP Aircraft:
The above aircraft before any modifications was earlier with Air India since 2018 and later based on the high threat levels to the Prime Minister, two planes were sent to US for modifications to suit the exclusive needs for the VVIP travel. Once delivered, these aircrafts will be exclusively used only for VVIP travel. This aircraft has new livery - INDIA, भारत(BHARAT In Hindi), Ashoka Chakra symbol, Indian Flag at the tail.
The currently used B747 aircraft are Air India commercial planes which are 15-20 years old. Once the travel of a VVIP to a foreign country is completed, Air India puts these aircrafts to commercial use and again when needed by the PM or President, it is reconfigured for VVIP travel. The B747 plane can fly non-stop for nearly 10 hours and requires refueling in between when travelling to US. Whereas the new B777-300ER can fly non-stop for 15 hours and able to fly to US without any refueling.
Modifications:
Heavy modifications are being made to this new aircraft which include missile defense systems such as Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCAM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS), sensors to detect enemy missiles, advanced communication set-up to ensure secure communications, conference rooms, private rooms for VVIP's. The US Congress approved the sale of technology in February 2019 for an estimated cost of 14,000 crores (190 million USD).
Technical Specifications: Boeing 777-300ER vs Boeing 747-400
The new "Air India One" aircraft will now be piloted by Indian Air Force pilots instead of Air India pilots. The base of operations for the new aircraft will be Indira Gandhi International Airport (earlier known as Palam Airport/Airbase). The aircrafts will however be maintained by Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) - a subsidiary of Air India Limited.
Types of Aircraft used by President/PM:
The aircraft used depends on the destination, for International travel the large body aircrafts are used like - B747, B777. For domestic travel, Indian Air Force's Business jets are used.
For travelling to remote areas, IAF's MI-17 helicopters are used.
Below shows The Boeing 777-300 ER | Pic credits: Boeing
Air India One:
Comments