Four VIP and light transport aircraft used by the United Kingdom’s command support squadron have been put up for sale by UK’s Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA).
One of two BAE Systems BAe 146 C.3 jet transports delivered to the RAF in April 2013. The two aircraft, along with two VIP variants, have been put up for sale. (BAE Systems)
Details of the aircraft were included in a DESA brochure distributed at the 2019 DSEI event in London.
The brochure stated that both variants of BAe 146 – two CC.2 VIP variants and two CC.3 quick change cargo variants – are up for sale.
The aircraft are currently used by 32 (The Royal) Squadron based at UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Northolt in West London to fly members of the Royal Family, government leaders, and senior military officers around the world.
The two BAe 146 CC.2s were purchased in the 1980s and the two CC.3s were acquired second hand in 2012.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) source close to the project told Jane’s it was “too early in the process to be discussing out-of-service dates and replacements [of the BAe 146s]”. He said putting BAe 146 in the brochure was about “testing the market’s appetite for a potential sale in the future”.
A RAF source said “no decisions” had been made on the replacement for the BAe 146s.
In March 2018 the MoD awarded the four-year GBP42 million BAe 146 In-Service Support Availability Contract to BAE Systems Regional Aircraft and Serco.
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