This is a special plane, on which the head of state makes international visits and goes on trips around the country. The very appearance of this aircraft should inspire respect for Russia, symbolizing its technical level, economic power and gigantic size. When Putin, the President of our country, Air Force One comes in for landing or takes off, the emotions of all who watch this spectacle correspond to this important moment. This is our plane, it belongs to all the people, the work of many teams has been invested in it, and it was built with taxpayers' money. People have the right to know what is inside it, how reliable and comfortable it is, how the head of state can perform his duties during long-haul flights.
Stalin's special air detachment
The head of state could theoretically travel by plane already in the thirties, when the reliability of airplanes reached the proper level. And so it was, although I. V. Stalin, despite his passion for aviation, still preferred land transport. In the military year of 1943, he arrived at the Tehran conference by air from Baku,on the American "Douglas" C-47. At that time, the production of licensed transport aircraft of this type (Li-2 or PS-84) was already established in the USSR, but in the USA some components were improved, so the C-47 was chosen from among those supplied under the Lend-Lease agreement. A special military unit for government transportation was formed two days after the start of the war (MAGON), but other members of the top leadership and military leaders used this special air group. History has not preserved other cases of Stalinist flights, except for a flight to Tehran and back. Most likely, they were not.
From Khrushchev to Yeltsin
Another thing - N. S. Khrushchev. Having become the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, he assessed the government aviation legacy, which consisted of ordinary passenger Li-2, Il-12, Il-14 and other modest twin-engine aircraft, and found it too modest. In 1956, a special air squadron (GAS) was created, which immediately received the latest Il-18, Tu-104 and huge Tu-114. In general, the representative functions assigned to this equipment and its personnel were quite consistent with the then world practice, and the most important head of the Soviet Union really needed such machines so as not to look like a “poor relative” among world leaders. In the Brezhnev era, this tradition was continued, the magnificent Il-62 airliner became a symbol of the might of the USSR. The first board number 1 Putin, Il-96, he got from Yeltsin. The plane was repeatedly remade, changing the interior and equipment, and, in the end, ordered four new cars.
Rossiya State Transport Company
B. V. Putin often pays visits. He spends four times more time in the air than his predecessor in the presidency B. N. Yeltsin. During the flight, he also has to perform the difficult duties of the head of state. Either in Beijing, or in Paris, or in Rio de Janeiro, Putin's aircraft number 1 lands. The photos taken by correspondents of the world mass media capture the edge of the snow-white plane on which the president arrived. It seems that it is always the same, but it is not. In fact, there are currently four of them, and soon there will be five, and these are only of the same type. The state transport company Rossiya has a fleet of more than a dozen vehicles. Among them are a pair of Ilov-62, Tu-134, Yakov-40 and Mi-8 helicopters. All of them are equipped with a set of equipment necessary for governing the country. But the most important plane number 1 of Putin, whose photo most often ends up on the pages of print and online publications, is, of course, the Il-96-300PU, a flying control post or “air Kremlin”.
Our plane for our president
The choice of brand and type of aircraft was not a particular problem. Of all the passenger liners, back in the Yeltsin era, the largest, most beautiful, reliable, stable in the air and comfortable Il-96 was chosen. Even today he is Putin's number 1 board. Which aircraft could better fulfill this function?
The idea that the President of the Russian Federation would fly on a foreign plane,perhaps, it occurred to some supporters of "Western values" during the period of great friendship with the United States, but they still did not dare to buy a representative Boeing in the Yeltsin era. The economic difficulties of the nineties are a well-known historical fact, in addition, the wide-body domestic airliner turned out to be quite good. So it remains to this day, Putin's number 1 board. The Il-96-300 model, which has become the base model, has a take-off weight of up to 250 tons, can reach speeds of over 900 km / h, and as for the range of non-stop flight, it is known that it exceeds 9 thousand kilometers (an indicator for serial samples), but how much is still a secret. All components and parts in this aircraft are Russian-made, including PS-90A engines, perhaps not as economical as Pratt & Whitney or Rolls Royce products, but reliable. In addition, the motors were assembled with great care. The cost of a regular copy fluctuates around the equivalent of 60 million US dollars. Each presidential aircraft number 1 "Russia" cost the treasury many times more.
Yeltsin board number 1
For the first time, the issue of interior design was raised by the administration of President Boris N. Yeltsin after his election to a high post. Prior to this, the tastes of state leaders were relatively undemanding, for example, L. I. Brezhnev liked to play dominoes in flight, which is why the polished table had to be repaired (but not changed) often. The new democratic Yeltsin comrades-in-arms also did not like Gorbachev's plane, as well as the situation inside the new Il-96, andbecause the interior was ordered in Switzerland (Jet Aviation AG). The contracting firm Mercata Trading, which became an intermediary in this transaction, also made a lot of money. Foreign designers based their development on the sketches of Glazunov (not Ilya, but his son, Ivan). Inside, the Russian board number 1 of that time was a model of luxury and comfort. It has new bedrooms (two), a conference room (for 12 people), comfortable seats for suites and shower cubicles. But the main thing was another innovation: the plane housed a whole mobile medical center, in which it became possible to exercise control over the he alth of the President, and it left much to be desired. In Helsinki, to "friend Bill" in March 1997, Yeltsin was already delivered by a new aircraft number 1.
Need for a new car
From the point of view of national security, ordering a government facility abroad seems quite adventurous. Many participants in the events remember the incident that occurred during the fire at the US Embassy (1991), when, in a short time and in difficult conditions, Soviet intelligence officers managed to install many "bugs". And in the case of the plane, which stayed in Switzerland for a year (a country, of course, neutral, but also quite attractive for spies), only very lazy employees of foreign intelligence services could not take the opportunity to install any listening devices. In addition, the peculiarities of local taxation and wages implied a very high cost of work. At the time of the election of the new Presidentthere was only one such aircraft in the State Customs Committee, and the old Il-62, on which M. S. Gorbachev flew, was used as a backup. It was absolutely clear that the next board number 1 (Putin) should be completely built and completed in Russia. It’s more reliable, besides, the filling (mainly electronic) required a completely new one, due to the high mobility of the new leader of the country.
English design in Russian style
Unfortunately, design is not our forte, at least not yet. Therefore, the Russians did not consider it necessary to do without foreign aid in this area this time either. However, there was a very significant clause in the contract: Dimonite Aircraft Furnishings Ltd performs all work on the territory of the Russian Federation, they are carried out by our specialists and mainly from domestic materials. Thus, two problems were solved at once. Firstly, the interior was guaranteed to meet the highest world ergonomic standards. Secondly, participation in this project provided Russian designers with the opportunity to learn a lot, so that in the future they could do without foreign help. Flight number 1 Putin was supposed to be an example of an ideal combination of high functionality, convenience, comfort and excellent design, bordering on luxury, worthy of the head of a great country, but not crossing the boundaries of good taste.
Secret mode
In order to evaluate the information capabilities of the President's air headquarters,it should be understood what constitutes his ground residence. From the Kremlin, the head of state has the opportunity to govern the entire country in peacetime, and in the event of an armed conflict, he, being the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, must lead the troops, in particular, give orders (if necessary) to use tactical or strategic nuclear weapons. There is no doubt that the communication channels intended for the transmission of such orders are highly redundant and extremely reliable. On the ground, it is also very difficult to establish such a system, but during the flight the task becomes much more complicated. Basically, the secrets of board number 1 relate to this particular technical issue. Yes, and the most common communication is also maximally classified. Any word of the President, spoken in a conversation with the Minister of Defense or the head of the regional level, refers to information of particular importance that is not subject to unauthorized disclosure. The same applies to e-mail.
The uninterrupted functioning of communications is ensured, as a rule, by one more plane following the same course as Putin's aircraft number 1. Escort is carried out by a flying repeater.
All electronic equipment and special communications equipment on board the presidential aircraft and at the disposal of ground-based special communications services are made in Russia (apparently in the city of Omsk) and have unique encryption and decryption algorithms. It is impossible for anyone else to connect to them.
Safety
IL-96 is essentially ordinarycivil airliner. Ordinary citizens may wonder how safe Putin's Air Force One is in today's difficult times. There is protection, but its details and implementation mechanisms, of course, are kept strictly secret.
The Presidential Security Service is fully aware that the person number 1 in the state can become the object of an assassination attempt not only on the ground, but also during air travel. It has never been reported that Putin was escorted by fighter jets during the flight, but it is possible that they are present in the airspace. At the same time, the presence of such an escort abroad is problematic due to many legal regulations governing the movement of aircraft, and over his country the President is not afraid of attacks by enemy interceptors. As for the possibility of hitting the “flying Kremlin” with a surface-to-air missile, there are means against such a threat, but they are kept secret for obvious reasons. It can be assumed that they are not limited to the production of electronic interference.
Staff
The fact that special people are hired into the staff of the State Transport Company Rossiya is not even subject to discussion. The professional qualities of pilots, technicians and flight attendants must correspond to the importance of their work duties. For each of the machines, two crews were selected, working in shifts, plus one commander, who bears the main burden of responsibility. It is known that the honored pilot S. Antsiferov pilots Putin's aircraft number 1. Escort in flightcarried out by ten flight attendants, half of whom are women. In the structure of the State Customs Committee there is no personnel department as such, it is recruited by the mandate commission. Not only professionalism is taken into account, but also such important personal qualities as the level of intelligence, courage and patriotism (this is the concern of the Federal Security Service). A hired worker is not immediately allowed on special aircraft, there is a certain probationary period. As for the payment, its amount was not disclosed, one can only guess that it is quite worthy.
Gold plumbing?
A detailed description of the presidential aircraft is available to the general public and widely discussed. Like every moment of the life of famous people, the interior of the salons received not only favorable reviews. Both ordinary inhabitants and opposition leaders (who, by the way, are not particularly ascetic) stubbornly spread rumors about how much the board number 1 "Russia" cost the treasury. Photos of plumbing fixtures and even table legs covered with yellow metal are categorically declared to be proof that they are gold (even the price of a toilet bowl was called - 75 thousand dollars). Whether this is actually so, or titanium nitride was used, is not known for certain, and asking such questions is at least unethical. If, for example, a lady is asked whether she is decorated with real diamonds or jewelry, then she may be offended. Interior designers sought to give the most luxurious look, and what means they managed, may remain a mystery. It is only known that the plane cost a little more than Yeltsin's. Andthis despite the fact that the equipment on it is much larger, and it is really not cheap.
