I don't see the Boeings replaced any time soon.
They have are already modified and ready to go, they are still relatively new, they are all proven models with excellent safety record.[/quotes] Perfect answer.
The important thing about VIP transports is that safety and reliability come first, prestige comes second. Replacing them with a indigenous aircraft that is new, unproven is potentially a risk.
exactly and for a Head of State plane comes down to three points to decide on size.
1) Mission needs.
Air force one does not have all the Amenities you would think, There is no bath or sauna or King size bed What it has a communications center, It's a national command bunker on wings. In National Emergency Air force one was designed to evac POTUS and give him Command of the US Nuclear arsenal.
2) Entourage, The President of the US Travels with a staff, Members of his family, Security teams and a Press pool. Most other National leadership ( including Russian) travel with just their body guards and Staff or a few guests.
3) Then and only then Amenities. Offices, Bedrooms, ward rooms Head of State aircraft are places of business.
. Xi would have a harder time telling members of the party to cut back on the Lambo's If he is flying around in a Jet with a Jacuzzi.
How heavily modified is the 747-400? When I read that it is drawn from commercial service and returned afterwards, that would seem to preclude the extensive modifications required to have anything like the functionality of the American Air Force One.
In most cases for VVIP Use you rarely need the level of Modifications seen on the VC25, It's EMP Hardened, Sat coms, has a little used air to air refueling feature ( The the Air force found was more trouble than it was worth. ) loaded with missile countermeasures.
Then come the actual VVIP amenities which for a Jet are pretty snazzy but are actually rather mundane compared to Some private VIP rides. most of the time though a Modern First class style accommodations will do.
To a large extent it is not about transporting VIPs, it is about representing the nation on the world stage. Having the leadership of a supposed superpower (let alone an enduring civilisation representing one-sixth of humanity) flown around in a commercial aircraft manufactured by the other superpower sends the wrong message from the start: that China cannot stand on its own two feet and there does not need to be taken all that seriously.
No that's more Shuttle diplomacy then VIP transport. Air force one is Iconic, a symbol of the United states of America, but the President and Vice president of the US make a lot of Trips Justifying a big VVIP bird. That's more a question of how many state trips a President of China intends to make? Xi Jinping is actually the most traveled head of the PRC. in 2015 he made 8 trips abroad. that same year President Obama made 10, in 2016 Obama visited 17 foreign nations And I am not counting the Trips he made around the US or Midway. As you can see The POTUS makes far more foreign trips than that of The President of the PRC.
Remember a Sign of Chinese Political good will to the world is a joke if it never leaves Beijing.
So far as I can see every nation that has an aviation industry transports its government figures in domestic aircraft to the extent possible:
USA: Boeing & Gulfstream
Sikorsky helicopter to, but Correct.
UK: Airbus & BAe
Partially right, Only in the last year as the UK had a Head of Government/ Head of State Transport available for foreign Trips prior to that they borrowed a Boeing 767 from British Airways. The Royals also use a mix of US and British aircraft for shorter trips the primary helicopter for flying her majesty is a Sikorsky S76C+ additionally lesser members of the Royal family and PM are not above flying commercially.
France: Airbus & Dassault
Germany: Airbus & Bombardier
Correct but Bombardier is Canadian not German, and Airbus is a Multinational
Italy: Airbus & Dassault
Spain: Airbus & Dassault
Russia: Ilyushin
