Israeli “Air Force One” Revived?

Israeli “Air Force One” Revived?

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

By ARIE EGOZI

Can Israel afford an “Air force one” style aircraft? Sources say that the moment of decision is “approaching fast”.

There is no doubt that heads of states like very much to fly in the world in a dedicated aircraft tailored for the mission, but few countries can afford that luxury.

Israel has in recent years looked for such an aircraft that will substitute the aircraft leased from Israeli airlines to fly the Prime Minister around the world but that so far did not result in a contract. Budget constraints and public criticism blocked the runway.

Now a solution may be on the taxiway – a multi-mission aircraft that will be capable of flying the Prime Minister in style and, when needed, will be capable of supplying operational services like aerial refueling and troop transport.

One example is the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Multi Mission Tanker Transport (MMTT) configuration.

This configuration is based on a Boeing 767-300ER that will be converted by the Bedek group of IAI.

The 767 MMTT will have a state of the art glass cockpit and will be re engined with new engines.

The configuration will allow in addition to the main mission of aerial refueling , to transport 200 soldiers and 60 tons of cargo.

Sources in the Israeli ministry of defense said that the price of the 767 in its MMTT configuration is 15-20% lower than any other alternative.

The MMTT may be considered as the long awaited solution and will allow the use of the aircraft for operational missions while allowing a fast configuration change to the cabin when an official visit of the Prime Minister is on the agenda.

So the solution exists. Now the budget has to be allocated.

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