Sunday Times:
Royals fly free of cuts to get new jets
THE RAF is planning to spend millions of pounds on a new fleet of executive jets dedicated to flying the royal family, government ministers and military top brass on trips overseas.
Overlooked in last week’s defence review is a controversial plan to replace four BAe 146 jets that make up the so-called “royal flight”, which is provided by the RAF’s 32 (the Royal) Squadron. RAF sources say that with a range of only 1,800 miles, the existing four-engined aircraft are unable to fly across the Atlantic and need to be refuelled too often when flying beyond Europe. A trip to Dubai needs one refuelling stop, while a trip to Delhi requires two.
Officials are looking for a modern corporate jet with a longer range, but such a move could come with a hefty price tag — a jet such as the Bombardier Global 6000, which has a range of 7,000 miles, costs £40m.
Replacing 32 Squadron’s jets is in addition to a £10m plan to refit an RAF Voyager refuelling aircraft so it can be used by David Cameron on official overseas trips. The government said that this would ultimately save taxpayers £735,000 a year......
A cheaper alternative to buying new business jets could be to lease extra aircraft under the same private finance initiative deal that has delivered 14 Voyagers to the RAF. The Voyager is based on a standard Airbus A330, and aviation sources suggest a number of Airbus’s ACJ319 or ACJ320 corporate jets could be leased to 32 Squadron.
The royal family has scaled back its use of 32 Squadron to a handful of trips a year after criticism over the cost of using the military aircraft. The Queen and the Prince of Wales use commercial charter companies for their official tours. But 32 Squadron, which is based at RAF Northolt, west London, is regularly used by senior military officers and government ministers. Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, was flown by the squadron 11 times between July 2014 and March 2015.
The BAe 146 can accommodate around 30 VIPs with four crew and has a series of countermeasures to protect it from being shot down. As well as VIP travel, the jets have moved key commanders and reconnaissance teams to war zones, flown war criminals to the Hague and helped evacuate British civilians from Libya in 2011.
The Ministry of Defence said the department’s air defence board would decide how and when to replace the jets. “The BAe 146 has not been manufactured since 2002 and a timescale has not been given for this decision. It may be a one-for-one replacement of aircraft, but another option might be better value for money.”.....