Friday, 02 October 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
The first of the two VVIP specially modified Boeing 777 aircraft on which the President, the Vice President, and the Prime Minister will hop-on for their foreign or domestic visits, landed at Delhi International Airport after a 15-hour flight from Texas on Thursday around 3.12 pm.
The plane is equipped with state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures and Self-Protection Suites. Air India had sent a pair of Boeing 777 to a Boeing facility in Dallas to be refurbished.
Officials said the total cost of purchase and retrofitting the two planes has been estimated to be around Rs 8,400 crore.
According to officials, Air India One, which is the call sign of the aircraft, landed at the Delhi airport from Texas at around 3 pm on Thursday.
Another custom-made B777 plane for the travel of VVIPs is likely to be received from Boeing during a later date, they noted. The modified aircraft will also have “Bharat” and India written on them, along with the Ashoka emblem.
A team of senior officials from the Indian Air Force and Air India had reached the USA during the first half of August to receive the plane and assessing the technical requirments, the officials said. The New Boeing 777-300ERs will be operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and not of Air India, as earlier.
The plane was scheduled to be delivered by aircraft manufacturer Boeing to Air India in July but its delivery was delayed twice – once in July for a few weeks due to Covid-19 pandemic and then in August for a few weeks due to technical reasons
The plane is equipped with Advanced Electronic Warfare Suites which will not only protect aircraft from any kind of attack from the surface to air but also will be able to take countermeasures in case of an attack.
Due to the advanced communication system fitted in the aircraft, the Prime Minister or the President will be able to communicate with the relevant ground staff through video or audio conferencing without the worry of being hacked or taped. The new planes have been configured to provide generous office space, meeting rooms, a wide array of communication systems and a section for handling medical emergencies.
These two aircraft were part of Air India’s commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before they were sent back to Boeing for retrofitting them for VVIP travel.
During the travel of the VVIPs, the two B777 aircraft will be operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and not of Air India, an official said. Currently, the president, vice president and prime minister, fly on Air India’s B747 planes, which have the call sign Air India One. Air India pilots fly these B747 aircraft for the dignitaries and the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) maintains them.
When these B747 aircraft are not flying the dignitaries, they are used by the Indian national carrier for commercial operations.
