Desi Air Force One to take first VVIP flight soon :India

The PM's spanking new, highly-secure office in the sky is now finally ready for `inauguration' after some delay. Manmohan Singh may well get a whiff or two of the plush environs but it will really be the new PM who will enjoy the smooth ride after taking over in May-June. The three wide-bodied VVIP Boeing Business Jets, ordered in October 2005 at a total cost of Rs 937 crore, are likely to be formally inducted into IAF by end-March or early-April. Equipped as they are with high-tech self-protection suites (SPS) to guard against missiles, encrypted satellite communication facilities and advanced navigation aids, the highly-customised aircraft will ensure the PM as well as President travel in fully secure comfort like never before.

"The first flight by either the President or PM on one of the jets will mark their formal inauguration. It should happen within two-three weeks,'' said a senior defence ministry officer on Tuesday. Asked whether Singh would take one of these jets if he goes for the G-20 summit in London on April 2, the official only said, "The scheduling process for the first VVIP flight is still to be fully tied-up.'' If the PM does indeed take the aircraft to the summit, also being attended by US President Barack Obama, he will have his own desi version of the American "Air Force One'' to brandish about. Some heat and dust, however, has already been generated over whether US inspectors will be allowed to periodically inspect the three Indian VVIP jets, as reported by TOI earlier. India has signed a specific end-use monitoring agreement (EUMA) with US for the three VVIP jets, which is required under American domestic laws. Being a government-to-government deal, the contract is governed by Pentagon's "Golden Sentry'' EUMA programme, which focuses on "cradle-to-grave'' verifications. The defence ministry is yet to come clean on whether or not India has got around the conditionality of physical verifications.

Though the first of three jets had touched down in India last August, with the other two following subsequently, it's only now that the extensive aircraft trials and intensive crew training has been completed. Even the initial delivery of the jets was somewhat delayed due to Washington's insistence on proper safeguards for the hush-hush security equipment fitted on them. Be that as it may, they are now part of the Palam-based IAF's elite Communication Squadron, which ferries the President, PM and other top dignitaries. "They will replace the existing Boeing 737-200s, inducted in 1983, in the Communication Squadron. The inaugural VVIP flight on them has been delayed since the aircraft and crew had to be cleared for certification,'' said an officer. Though not as technically sophisticated as Obama's Air Force One, the Indian planes do have quite potent systems to tackle incoming "hostile'' missiles or other airborne threats. While the three VVIP jets in themselves came for Rs 734 crore, another Rs 202.93 crore was spent on equipping them with SPS ordered directly through the US government.

The SPS includes `radar warning receivers' to alert the plane that a hostile radar has `painted' it and a missile may be headed its way. The `missile-approach warning systems' and `counter-measure systems' will then help the planes take automatic evasive action by shooting metal chaff to "fool'' radar-guided missiles and flares to throw heat-seeking missiles off the track. There are also enough advanced electronic counter-measures on board to jam hostile radars. The PM, of course, will have a full-fledged executive office and bedroom to himself on board, apart from a secure communication chamber and facilities to host around 50 guests in the specially-configured aircraft. The American Air Force One, of course, has all this and much more. Moreover, unlike Air Force One which can fly halfway around the world without refuelling, the Indian version's range is limited to 3,000 nautical miles.

Posted in: India,USA