Forty planes and six armoured cars: Obama visit to India the 'biggest ever by a US President'



Heavily protected: President Obama will have six armoured cars and 40 aircraft for his three-day visit to India

Barack Obama's trip to India next month will be the biggest by any US President - with a staggering 40 aircraft and six armoured cars.

Details of the elaborate arrangements for the tree-day presidential visit on November 6 were leaked to Indian newspaper earlier this week.

Forty aircraft - including the Air Force One military plane - and six heavily armoured cars will follow the president around the country.

The huge security operation comes days after a suspected bomb was found on a cargo plane at East Midlands Airport.



The entourage will be the biggest ever in terms of logistics and manpower for any US president.

The president himself will be ferried around in a black Cadillac - dubbed 'Barack Mobile' - which has its own built in communications centre - to enable Obama to be in touch with the White House, US vice president and the US strategic command

The car also has the US nuke launch codes and the nuclear switch for the president. It can also withstand a chemical or germ warfare or even a bomb attack.

Obama will be accompanied on the trip by US first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha, according to Indian newspaper Headlines Today.

Earlier, Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia were not to be part of the trip. But Michelle's opinion prevailed and now the girls will accompany the first American couple to India, according to the paper.

It is hoped that the trip will build important economic links between the US and India. The county has become one of the fasted growing economies and some experts predict that it could rival China in the coming years.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister David Cameron took a group of business leaders on a UK trip to India.

US officials also hope that Obama's trip will breath new life into his presidency after a drop in support ahead of the mid-term elections.

Political commentators claim that many poorer white American's feel alienated by Obama's failure to deliver promises two years after his rip-roaring election win.

But the extent of the trip to India - which could run up a bill of hundreds of thousands of pounds - is unlikely to win over hard-up swing voters in the US.

The president has booked the entire Taj Mahal Hotel for two days of his visit and the property will be a no-go area for non-hotel staff while he is staying.

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A heavy security cordon will be in place around the hotel and there will be strict restrictions on vessels near the plush building.

Obama will visit the historic Taj Mahal with wife Michelle and their two children.

The secret service will set up two command posts in Delhi and Mumbai which will act as the communication nerve centres. These centres will keep an eye on each movement by the president with real time satellite monitoring.

Three Marine One choppers will be reassembled in India to ferry Obama and his family.

Thirty sniffer dogs will also be put on service to boost the security arrangements during Obama's visit.