Globe trotter Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is all set to get two brand-new special aircraft that will reach India next year.
The two long-haul Boeing 777-300ER aircraft are being customised at Boeing’s Dallas facility and are expected to arrive in New Delhi in June 2020, complete with missile defence systems that will make the aircraft as secure as the Boeing 747-200B used by US President Donald Trump.
It will be India’s first dedicated aircraft for the three dignitaries – the President, Vice President and Prime Minister – who usually travel abroad on an aircraft chartered from the state-run airline, Air India.
The Boeing 777 aircraft will also be the first Indian plane to be equipped with Special Protection Suite that can jam enemy radar frequencies, divert heat-seeking missiles and intercept advanced intermediate range missile systems without intervention by the crew.
The missile defence system on-board the new aircraft that could necessitate placing them under the control of the Indian Air Force rather than Air India. If it goes to the IAF as is being discussed, a second official said, it could mean that the call sign of the prime ministerial aircraft also changes from Air India One to Air Force one.