Royal Air Force Voyager Vespina

Proposals to provide a new dedicated VIP transport aircraft, for governmental or royal use, were first mooted in 1998 under Prime Minister Tony Blair. In mid 2006, there was a proposal for the procurement of two VIP aircraft, a 70-seat long haul aircraft and a smaller 15-seat jet for shorter distances, at a total cost of £100 million. However, in March 2008, the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown scrapped the plans for both aircraft. Instead, just one small aircraft was to be purchased, and restricted to UK-only operation, In March 2009, the proposal for a £7 million 12-seater private jet plan was halted due to the recession. ==RAF Voyager==

It was not until the end of 2015 that the British Government announced as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (2015 SDSR) that one existing RAF Voyager aircraft, a military version of an Airbus A330-243 civilian airliner, would be converted into a VIP Voyager for use by the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, and senior government ministers. In June 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered that the aeroplane be painted in a United Kingdom-themed red, white, and blue livery. This new paint scheme was designed with the assistance of Airbus, and was carried out by Marshall Aerospace and Defence at its facilities at Cambridge Airport, Despite having been fitted as a VIP aircraft since 2016, and having a custom livery since 2020, the British Government and the RAF has insisted that the aeroplane will continue to serve its military purpose of air-to-air refuelling (primarily fast jets, from its two Cobham 905E under-wing hose and drogue refuelling pods, and larger transport aircraft from its centreline Cobham 805E Fuselage Refuelling Unit) and air transport and personnel trooping. According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on 11 August 2017 to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), ZZ336, the VIP Voyager carried out a total of 76 aerial refuelling sorties supplying both UK and foreign receiver aircraft from 12 July 2016 through to 9 August 2017, under various auspices, including 'exercise', 'transit', and 'operational'. Vespina continues to refuel front-line fighter and transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force, including the Typhoon FGR4, F-35B Lightning, and A400M Atlas. In December 2022, Vespina was forward deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to provide air-to-air refuelling and support air security operations by the Qatar Emiri Air Force and Royal Air Force during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This was part of Exercise Soaring Falcon, a regular deployment by Royal Air Force assets to Qatar. notably the 2022 Trooping the Colour which formed part of the celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, and sometimes forms the lead part of a formation along with the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, commonly known as the Red Arrows, a role most notably previously undertaken by a Concorde of British Airways. ==See also==