Board number 1 of Putin: model, photo. Maintenance of presidential aircraft

This is a special plane, on which the head of state makes international visits and travels around the country. The very appearance of this aircraft should inspire respect for Russia, symbolizing its technical level, economic power and gigantic dimensions. When the board of number 1 of Putin, the president of our country comes in or flies up, the emotions of everyone who watches this spectacle correspond to this important moment. This is our airplane, it belongs to all the people, it involves the work of many collectives, and it was built on the money of taxpayers. People have the right to know what is inside, how reliable and convenient it is, how the head of state can perform his duties during long flights.

Stalin's special squadron

To travel on planes the head of the state could theoretically already in the thirties, when the reliability of airplanes reached the proper level. So it was, although JV Stalin, despite his passion for aviation, preferred land transportation. In the military in 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 United States some nodes were improved, so the C-47 was selected from the number of Lend-Lease contracts. A special military unit for government transport was established two days after the outbreak of the war (MAGON), but other senior members of the senior management and military leaders used this special purpose air group. Other cases of Stalin flights, except for the flight to Tehran and back, history did not save. Most likely, they were not.

From Khrushchev to Yeltsin

Another thing - NS Khrushchev. After becoming First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, he estimated the aviation government inheritance consisting 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 (AON) was created, at the disposal of which the newest Il-18, Tu-104 and huge Tu-114s immediately arrived. In general, the representation functions entrusted to this equipment and servicing its personnel were in accordance with the world practice of that time, and the most important chief of the Soviet Union really needed such machines not to look like a "poor relative" among the world leaders. In the Brezhnev era, this tradition was continued, the symbol of the power of the USSR was a magnificent Il-62 liner. First board number 1 of Putin, IL-96, got him from Yeltsin. The plane was repeatedly altered, changed the interior and equipment and, in the end, ordered four new cars.

"Russia", the State Transport Company

Vladimir Putin often visits. He spends four times as much time in the air as his predecessor, Boris N. Yeltsin, at the presidential post. During the flight, he also has to fulfill the difficult duties of the head of state. Then in Beijing, then in Paris, then in Rio de Janeiro boarding number 1 of Putin lands. Photos made by correspondents of the world media, the edge is captured by a snow-white plane, on which the president flew. It seems that he is always the same, but it is not. In fact, there are currently four, and soon there will be five, and these are just the same type. State transport company "Russia" has a fleet of more than a dozen cars. Among them, a pair of IL-62, Tu-134, Yakov-40 and Mi-8 helicopters. All of them are equipped with a set of equipment necessary for the management of the country. But the main board number 1 of Putin, the photo of which most often falls on the pages of printed and online publications - is, of course, IL-96-300PU, a flying control point or the "air Kremlin".

Our airplane for our president

The choice of brand and type of aircraft was not a problem. Of all the passenger airliners, even at the time of Yeltsin, the largest, most beautiful, reliable, stable in the air and comfortable IL-96 was chosen. He is today - the board number 1 of Putin. Which plane could do better this function?

The idea that the President of the Russian Federation flew on a foreign plane might have occurred to some supporters of "Western values" during a period of great friendship with the United States, but they did not dare to buy the representative "Boeing" in the Yeltsin era. The economic difficulties of the nineties are a well-known historical fact, in addition, the wide-body domestic liner turned out to be quite good. So it remains to this day, the board number 1 of Putin. The Il-96-300 model, which has become basic, has a take-off weight of up to 250 tons, can develop a speed of over 900 km / h, and as for the distance of a non-stop flight, it is known that it exceeds 9,000 kilometers (the indicator for serial samples) , But how much, while kept a secret. All the components and components in this Russian-made aircraft, including the PS-90A engines, may not be as economical as the products of Pratt & Whitney or Rolls Royce, but reliable. In addition, the motors were assembled with special care. The cost of an ordinary copy varies around the equivalent of $ 60 million. Each presidential board number 1 "Russia" cost the treasury many times more expensive.

Yeltsin's board № 1

For the first time, the issue of decorating the interior was raised by the administration of President Boris N. Yeltsin after he was elected to high office. Prior to this, the tastes of the leaders of the state were relatively unimportant, for example, Leonid Brezhnev liked to play dominoes in flight, because of which the polished table had to be repaired frequently (but not changed). Gorbachev's plane was also not liked by the new democratic Yeltsin colleagues, like the situation inside the new IL-96, and therefore the interior was ordered in Switzerland (Jet Aviation AG). A lot of work has been done by the contracting firm Mercata Trading, which became an intermediary in this transaction. Foreign designers based their development on sketches by Glazunov (not Ilya, but his son, Ivan). Inside, Russian board number 1 of that time was a model of luxury and comfort. It has bedrooms (two), a conference room (for 12 people), comfortable seats for retinue and shower cubicle. But the main thing was another innovation: the plane had a mobile medical center, in which it became possible to exercise control over the health of the President, and it left much to be desired. In Helsinki, to the "friend Bill" in March 1997, Yeltsin delivered a new board No. 1.

Need for a new car

From the point of view of state security, the order of a government facility abroad seems quite adventurous. On the memory of many participants of the event, a case occurred during a fire in the US Embassy (1991), when in a short time and in difficult conditions Soviet spies managed to establish a lot of "bugs". And in the case of an airplane that was in Switzerland for a year (a country that is certainly neutral, but also quite attractive for spies), only very lazy employees of foreign special services could not use the opportunity to install any eavesdropping devices. In addition, the peculiarities of local taxation and pay required a very high cost of work. At the time of the election of the new President, there was only one such aircraft in the State Customs Committee, and the old IL-62 was used as a backup, on which Mikhail Gorbachev flew. It was quite clear that the next board number 1 (Putin) should be fully built and completed in Russia. So more reliable, besides the filling (mainly electronic) required a completely new, due to the high mobility of the new leader of the country.

English design in Russian

Unfortunately, design is not our "hobby", at least for now. Therefore, without foreign aid in this area, the Russians did not consider it necessary to manage this time. However, the contract had a very significant caveat: all works of Dimonite Aircraft Furnishings Ltd are made in 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. First, it was guaranteed that the interior meets the highest world ergonomic standards. Secondly, participation in this project provided Russian designers an opportunity to learn a lot, so that in the future it would be possible to do without foreign aid. Board number 1 of Putin was to be a model of the perfect combination of high functionality, comfort, comfort and excellent design, bordering on luxury, worthy of the head of a great country, but not passing the boundaries of good taste.

Privacy Mode

In order to assess the information capabilities of the President's air bet, it should be understood what his ground residence is. From the Kremlin, the head of state has the ability to rule the entire country in peacetime, and in the event of an armed conflict, he, as Supreme Commander-in-Chief, must exercise command of the troops, in particular, issue orders (if necessary) for the use of tactical or strategic nuclear weapons. There is no doubt that the communication channels intended for the transfer of such orders have multiple duplication and extreme reliability. On the ground to establish such a system is also very difficult, but during the flight the task is much more complicated. Basically, the secrets of the side number 1 concern this particular technical issue. Yes, and the most common connection is also the most secret. Any word of the President, spoken in conversation with the Minister of Defense or the head of the regional level, refers to information of special importance that is not subject to unauthorized disclosure. The same applies to electronic correspondence.

Uninterrupted operation of communications is provided, as a rule, by another plane, following the same course as the board number 1 of Putin. Maintenance is carried out by a flying repeater.

All electronic equipment and means of special communication, which are on board the presidential aircraft and at the disposal of ground-based special communication services, are manufactured in Russia (apparently in the city of Omsk) and have unique algorithms for encryption and decryption. Connect to them to someone else is impossible.

Security

The IL-96 is inherently an ordinary civil airliner. Ordinary citizens may be wondering how safe Putin's number 1 is in today's difficult time. Protection is, but its details and implementation mechanisms, of course, are kept in strict secrecy.

The President's Security Service is fully aware that the number 1 person in the state can be targeted not only on the ground, but also during air travel. It has never been reported that during the voyage, number 1 of Putin is escorted by fighters, but it is possible that they are present in the airspace. However, the presence of such an escort abroad seems problematic because of many legal rules governing the movement of aircraft, and over his country, the President does not fear attacks by enemy interceptors. As for the possibility of hitting the "flying Kremlin" with a ground-to-air missile, there are also means against this threat, but they are kept secret for understandable reasons. It can be assumed that they are not limited to the establishment of radio electronic jamming.

Staff

The fact that employees of the State Transport Company "Rossiya" are hired by people of special nature are not even negotiable. The professional qualities of pilots, technicians and flight attendants must be consistent with the importance of their work duties. For each of the vehicles, two crews are selected, working in shifts, plus one commander, bearing the main burden of responsibility. It is known that the honored pilot S. Antsiferov is piloting the side number 1 of Putin. Escort in flight is carried 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, the credentials committee accepts work. It takes into account not only professionalism, but also important personal qualities such as intelligence, courage and patriotism (this is already the concern of the Federal Guard Service). A hired worker is not immediately admitted to special aircraft, there is a certain probation period. As for payment, its size is not disclosed, it remains only to guess that it is quite decent.

Gold plumbing?

A detailed description of the presidential aircraft is available to the general public and is widely discussed. Like every moment of everyday life of famous people, the interior of the salons received not only approving reviews. Both the common people and the leaders of the opposition (not unlike, by the way, a special ascetic) persistently speculate about the amount by which the treasury boarded number 1 "Russia" cost the treasury. Photos of plumbing and even the legs of tables covered with yellow metal are categorically declared proof that they are gold (even called the price of a toilet bowl - 75 thousand dollars). Whether this is actually true, or titanium nitride has been used, is not known reliably, and it is at least unethical to ask such questions. If, for example, a lady has to ask whether real diamonds adorn her or jewelery, she may be offended. Interior designers tried to give the most luxurious appearance, and how much they cost, can remain a mystery. It is known only that the plane cost a little more than Yeltsin's. And this despite the fact that the equipment on it is much larger, and it is really not cheap.