US DEFENCE SECRETARY William Perry's order to equip VIP aircraft with cockpit-voice recorders, flight-data recorders and global-positioning-system hardware could affect nearly 600 aircraft which are now operated by the US military services.
A tally provided by the Department of Defense shows that the US Air Force is looking to retrofit its entire fleet of executive aircraft, which number about 220. The US Navy is considering 133 aircraft for modernisation, and the US Army lists 217 operational aircraft as candidates for the avionics upgrades. Also, on the list are 24 US Marine Corps aircraft.
A variety of civil-transport aircraft in military service manufactured by companies such as Beech, Boeing and Cessna are affected. Perry has ordered that all passenger-carrying military aircraft be upgraded. The US military services interpret that to mean fixed-wing aircraft carrying civilian passengers. The USAF and USN took this a step further and targeted some troop-carrying aircraft as well (Flight International, 24-30 April).
Source: Flight International