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| A KC-30A MRTT Tanker Aircraft |
Amy Remeikis
Australia is getting its own Air Force One – albeit a budget version.
After years of deliberations and political hesitancy, the Defence Department has been given the go-ahead to convert a KC-30A air-to-air refuelling aircraft, essentially an Airbus A330, into the VIP jet, replacing the ageing leased fleet.
First floated in a white paper, Defence has admitted, five months after it was first asked, it is moving ahead with modifications of one of its $204 million refuellers to give the Prime Minister an office in the air.
The new VIP jet is to be kept "modest" with only the minimum required modifications, remain capable of acting as an air-to-air refueller, but will also allow for "the continuance of Government business whilst in transit", meaning the Prime Minister will remain in contact at all times.
The government has chosen the cheapest of the options available to it, following former British prime minister David Cameron's lead. Defence confirmed it was "managing the modification", with the cost to come from $190 million already set aside to alter planes according to the air force's needs. Britain managed it for £10 million, which equates to about $16.5 million.
Read the full story at Sydney Morning Herald