UK’s Royal Air Force to retire VIP BAe 146s

The Royal Air Force (RFR, Brize Norton) is planning to sell the four BAe Systems quadjets it uses as a VIP transport as part of proposed budget cuts in the UK Ministry of Defence, the Daily Mail has reported. The BAe 146s are tentatively scheduled for phase-out in 2022 and are not due to be replaced by any other aircraft. As such, the Royal family will no longer have access to its own fixed-wing VIP air transport and will have to rely on aircraft provided by the government. The plan is expected to be formally unveiled once the spending cuts programme is finalised later this month. The four jets – two BAe 146-100s and two BAe 146-200(QC)s – are 32.5 years old on average and are operated by the 32 (Royal) Squadron based at Northolt airport. They are used to transport government representatives, senior military personnel, and the Royal family, although the RAF has underlined that the last role constitutes “by far, the minority of the squadron’s tasking”. The BAe 146-100s, which were delivered directly to the RAF, have also been used as strategic transports during foreign deployments. The BAe 146-200(QC)s were bought in 2012 from TNT Airways (3V, Liège) and modified for military needs, and have been used both for cargo and passenger flights. The 32 (Royal) Squadron also operates a single AW109 helicopter. The plans to retire the BAe quadjets have been opposed by politicians, including the Conservative Chairman of the Defence Committee, Tobias Martin Ellwood, who cited their importance for foreign deployments and military transport rather than just VIP needs. The news follows an earlier report that the RAF is also planning to ground all fourteen of its Lockheed Hercules C-130J transporters and reduce its commitments for new military aircraft. The RAF’s passenger transport fleet currently comprises one A330-200 mostly used for troop movements and one A330-200(MRTT) converted for VIP passenger transport. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced shows, the RAF also operates a further eight A330-200(MRTT)s as military tanker/transport aircraft.