Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Boeing 747-400 aircraft flew over Ukraine just minutes before Malaysian Airlines' MH17 was shot down over the rebel-held part of the country, killing 298 people on board.
The Prime Minister was flying from Frankfurt to New Delhi on a route passing over southern Ukraine on July 17.
Worse, Air India One, a Boeing 747-400 detached from Air India's civilian fleet to fly the Prime Minister, does not even have rudimentary protection against incoming missiles.The irony is that the aircraft, equipped with self-protection systems - the IAF's VVIP Boeings - does not meet the Special Protection Group's (SPG) requirements for four engines.
In 2009, the IAF's Communications Squadron inducted three specially-equipped 46-seater Boeing Business Jets (BBJs) for Rs.936.93 crore.
These aircrafts flown by Air Force pilots from the IAF's communication squadron are equipped with Electronic Countermeasures that can protect the planes from incoming missiles.
A few years ago, the SPG rejected an Air India suggestion to deploy its newly-acquired Boeing 777 for Air India One because it had only two engines.
Defence analysts say the incident illustrates why India needs to acquire four-engined aircraft such as the Boeing 747-800 retrofitted with self-protection suites. Both the Air Force One, a converted Boeing VC-25A used by US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ilyushin IL-96 four-engined jet feature missile protection systems and special escape capsules.
"The fact is that Air India One is a simple commercial airliner without any self-protection systems. All it can do is stay far away from conflict zones," says Air Vice-Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur of the Centre for Air Power Studies.
19/07/14 Sandeep Unnithan/India Today
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The Prime Minister was flying from Frankfurt to New Delhi on a route passing over southern Ukraine on July 17.
Worse, Air India One, a Boeing 747-400 detached from Air India's civilian fleet to fly the Prime Minister, does not even have rudimentary protection against incoming missiles.The irony is that the aircraft, equipped with self-protection systems - the IAF's VVIP Boeings - does not meet the Special Protection Group's (SPG) requirements for four engines.
In 2009, the IAF's Communications Squadron inducted three specially-equipped 46-seater Boeing Business Jets (BBJs) for Rs.936.93 crore.
These aircrafts flown by Air Force pilots from the IAF's communication squadron are equipped with Electronic Countermeasures that can protect the planes from incoming missiles.
A few years ago, the SPG rejected an Air India suggestion to deploy its newly-acquired Boeing 777 for Air India One because it had only two engines.
Defence analysts say the incident illustrates why India needs to acquire four-engined aircraft such as the Boeing 747-800 retrofitted with self-protection suites. Both the Air Force One, a converted Boeing VC-25A used by US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin's Ilyushin IL-96 four-engined jet feature missile protection systems and special escape capsules.
"The fact is that Air India One is a simple commercial airliner without any self-protection systems. All it can do is stay far away from conflict zones," says Air Vice-Marshal (retired) Manmohan Bahadur of the Centre for Air Power Studies.
19/07/14 Sandeep Unnithan/India Today
