Quote:
|
That's interesting. I always thought that the UK government officials were always using dedicated airplanes already. There's some advantages to having a special fleet. The planes of the AirForce One fleet have been extensively modified beyond belief with electronics, communications, countermeasures, and command networks... you know, just in case parliament gets terrorist bombed and the queen has to be whisk into safety, a moving airplane/ command nexus is a safe place to be.
|
The Royal Family and important Ministers already have dedicated RAF transport, provided by
32 (The Royal) Squadron with BAe 125's and 146's for fixed wing transport and Agusta A109's for helo services. This unit is unable to transport VIP's very far though, as the BAe 146 is a small commuter plane and the BAe 125 is a small-midsize bizjet without a long range capability, not to mention that none of these aircraft can carry the circus train of press, security and aides that goes along with a major overseas trip. For this, you need a big plane with long range like Air Force 1. Right now the Queen and PM use chartered BA 777's, which is probably not an ideal solution as those aircraft lack the communications and countermeasures that AF1 has. Also, they probably have to be booked way ahead of time with BA, making an emergency trip out of the question. All this being considered, I don't think it's such a bad idea for the RAF to aquire a pair of 777's and perhaps a few Gulfstream V's.