THE EYE IN THE SKY

Business jets are increasingly being tailored for special operations and surveillance and governments around the world are sourcing them. It has now become a bonafide business stream and a lucrative one for general aviation OEMs. A special report

Purely in terms of hard cash and the interest in this segment, business jets as defence tools are the fastest growing market in the world. The number of jets sold may not be huge but the value addition and the equipment that goes into these machines make them a money spinner. And all largely due to these nimble jets' sheer speed, range and high-altitude capability. Developed for business, these machines are now a big part of defence strategy worldwide.

Sweden, for example, routinely sends its converted Gulfstream jets, flown by the Swedish Air Force, across the Baltic on spying missions. Flying through an area patrolled by the Russian radar signals off the coast of Kaliningrad, this is the only way they know to safeguard their section of the Baltic coast.

As a Reuters report on the subject outlined, "apart from a couple of unobtrusive bulges underneath, Sweden's two Gulfstream-based S102B Korpen spy planes look like any other sleek corporate jet. But inside, the Swedish jets and a growing fleet of newer corporate aircraft contain the eyes and ears of a relentless intelligence war.

From the South China Sea to the Middle East and the Baltic, governments are eyeing "special mission" business jets capable of looking or listening at potentially lower running costs than converted passenger or military planes.

It's the latest chapter for a market that is as discreet as it is anonymous and worth an estimated $3 billion to a handful of corporate jet specialists and the Israeli, European and U.S. arms firms that supply advanced intelligence systems."