The first of two customized dedicated Boeing 777-300ER VVIP jets for Indian Head of State has been spotted under going flight testing in Uni...
The aircraft will replace the aged Air India Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet currently used for VVIP travel, which are taken from Air India commercial fleet and has to be configured each time when a VVIP foreign travel is scheduled.
The aircraft spots a new livery and will have the call-sign Air India One (AI-001) when the Prime Minister or President is onboard the aircraft. Delivery is expected in September 2020.
The aircraft VT-ALW was first delivered to Air India in January 2018. It was flown back to Boeing Defense for cabin refitting and VVIP modifications.
The jets come with encrypted satellite communication facilities, advanced navigation aids and advanced missile warning system which can detect incoming missiles and deploy electronic counter measures chaff and flare.
In February 2019, US approved the Foreign Military Sale of two Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) Self-Protection Suites (SPS) for the aircraft for an estimated cost of $190 million.
The SPS consist of AN/AAQ 24(V)N LAIRCM, ALQ-211(V)8 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite (AIDEWS), and AN/ALE-47 Counter-Measures Dispensing System (CMDS) to protect the two Head-of-State aircraft.
Boeing Defense will carry out the SPS engineering design, integration, hardware integration, flight test and certification.
The two wide body aircraft are diverted from a Air India commercial order with Boeing in 2006 for 68 aircraft- including 27 787 Dreamliners, 15 B777-300 ERs, eight B777-200 LRs and 18 B737-800s.
The 777-300 ER (Extended Range) has a flight range of 7,370 nmi (13649 km) and is powered by two giant GE 90 jet engines.
