Bahrain acquires 767-400ER testbed for VIP use

By Kate Sarsfield

The government of Bahrain has acquired the Boeing 767-400ER that was to be used as the testbed for the airframer's E-10 multi-mission command and control platform. Boeing built the 767-400ER as a testbed for systems integration on the E-10, but was forced to cancel the programme in 2007 because of funding constraints.

For a number of months the airframe - then registered N526BA - sat on the ramp at Snohomish County's Paine Field airport, near Boeing's Everett, Washington facility, where a number of test flights were undertaken by Boeing to keep the aircraft in an airworthy condition. The 767-400ER, pictured at nearby Boeing Field international airport, has since been re-registered A9C-HMH and will replace Bahrain's VIP Boeing 747SP in service.