Air India One: The first of two retrofitted Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft ordered by the Indian government for use of PM, President and Vice President arrived in India on Thursday.
Air India One (Photo Credits: Poulomi Saha/India Today)
Here’s a sneak peek of the state-of-the-art, modified ‘Air India One’ that will fly the country’s top dignitaries, including the President, the Vice-President and the Prime Minister.
First of the two retrofitted Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft ordered by the Indian government, landed at the Delhi airport on Thursday afternoon. It was earlier expected to land on Indian soil from the Boeing facility at Fort Worth, Texas in July but the delivery was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Inside Air India One (Photo Credits: Poulomi Saha/India Today)
The Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft among other things, includes a VVIP suite, two conference rooms, a press briefing room, a medical room and secure communications system, with jammers.
Air India One (Photo Credits: Poulomi Saha/India Today)
The wide-bodied aircraft has come fitted with sophisticated missile defence and countermeasures dispensing defence systems, including large aircraft infrared countermeasures (LAIRCM) self-protection suites (SPS). The aircraft also has air-to-air refuelling facility.
Inside Air India One (Photo Credits: Poulomi Saha/India Today)
The B777 aircraft will replace the Boeing 747 that was being used to fly Indian leaders until now. Similar to ‘Air Force One’ which is the official aircraft of the President of the United States, Air India One can function as a full-fledged office space.
It will initially be operated by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots in coordination with Air India pilots.