UNLEASH THE BEAST
Donald Trump’s astonishing £30m ring of steel as bombproof motor and special forces choppers protect him on UK visit
A £30MILLION ring of steel - including a bombproof motor and special forces choppers - greeted Donald Trump as he touched down in the UK this afternoon.
The US President landed at Stansted Airport just before 2pm, where a huge fleet of armoured cars, helicopters and special agents carrying guns awaited him.
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The massive security operation includes rooftop snipers, undercover Secret Service agents and elite SAS soldiers, as well as a number of British cops drafted in from forces all over the UK.
An extra fleet of US cars and aircraft arrived in Scotland ahead of his visit, and are ready to jump into action when the president visits his Scottish golf course at the weekend.
While on the ground Trump will use his private armoured limousine, dubbed "The Beast", which travels everywhere with him.
The £1.2million Cadillac weighs eight tonnes, is bulletproof and able to survive a direct rocket or chemical warfare attack.
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Donald Trump's helicopters at Stansted airport ready for the arrival of the US President from Brussels for his UK tour
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Security has been heightened around Regent's Park in London ahead of the arrival of US President Donald Trump
As security ramped up this week special forces helicopters - £50million V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military aircrafts - swept through the sky above London as part of the intricate operation.
Today the president will have a meet and greet at the US Embassy in London, before Trump and First Lady Melania are due to attend a black-tie dinner at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, hosted by Prime Minister Theresa May.
The couple will spend the night at Winfield House in Regent's Park - the US Ambassador's home in London.
Tomorrow Trump will fulfil his dream of meeting the Queen at Windsor Castle, after taking a working lunch with Mrs May at Chequers, the Prime Minister's country house.
The 72-year-old president is expected to inspect the Guard of Honour with the Queen before watching the military march past.
Trump and Melania will then round off the day by having tea with Her Majesty at the Castle, ahead of travelling up to Scotland for the weekend.
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Huge convoy filmed as UK gears up for arrival of US President Donald Trump
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CAR FORCE ONE: Trump's bulletproof Cadillac with panic button
Trump's Car weighs eight tonnes, is bulletproof and able to survive a direct rocket or chemical warfare attack.
It has a Halon fire-suppression system, used on race cars. Here are some other secret features that keep Donald Trump safe anywhere in the world...
- Cameras: Night-vision lenses fitted and controlled from the dashboard.
- Windows: Five layers of glass and polycarbonate mean they can withstand bullets. Only the driver's window opens.
- Driver: Specially trained Secret Services officer can perform 'J-turn' to spin car 180-degrees before continuing, facing forward, without changing the direction of travel.
- Panic button: The Beast has alarm, own oxygen supply in case of chemical attack and bags of the President's blood type in case he needs transfusion.
- Weapons: Pump action shotguns and tear gas cannons are carried in the car. Guns are also hidden in the front grille. The boot is also equipped with tear gas, smoke-screen dispensers and a firefighting system.
- Bodywork: Five inches thick military-grade armour, created from aluminium, steel, titanium and ceramic, covered with fiberglass panels. Additionally, the undercarriage is made from armoured steel floor plates to protect from grenades and bombs thrown underneath the vehicle.
- Reinforced tyres: The puncture-resistant tyres are reinforced with heat-resistant Kevlar. If destroyed, the car can be driven on wheels' steel pins.
- Doors: Eight inches thick armour-plated and the weight of a cabin door on a 757 jet.
- MPG: The Beast uses diesel but due to the weight and design it only does four miles per gallon.
- The cost: The Beast costs £1.2million to make plus £11million on its research and development. The President has TWELVE of them.
A keen golfer, the President is expected to travelling to Turnberry, the South Ayrshire golf resort he bought in 2014.
So far, Trump has spent 125 days at his golf properties during his presidency, according to NBC News, but the precise number of times he has actually played golf is difficult to track as trips have mainly been weekend private visits.
After the whirlwind three-day visit Trump and the First Lady are expected to travel back to the US on Sunday.
The first of a series of protests over the president's latest visit was held outside Trump Turnberry on Wednesday.
Around a dozen activists from Stand Up to Racism Scotland (SUTR) brandished banners with the slogans "Trump not welcome" and "No to racism, no to Trump".
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Huge US military aircraft hovers over London as £30m security operation for President Donald Trump visit gets underway
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A blimp depicting Trump as a screaming baby in a nappy is set to be flown over London when the president visits.
But the president isn't bothered about the giant baby blimp, the US ambassador has said. Woody Johnson insisted that the huge balloon doesn’t show how most Brits see him.
Trump will be flanked at all times by security detail from the US and the UK, as he travels around the country.
Security expert and the author of Parent Alert: How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online, Will Geddes, told The Sun Online: "It will be primarily led by the Met Police but they will also be working along counter-terrorism command, the Secret Service, MI5, and inevitably additional support from Special Forces - that's SAS and SBS.
"Counter terrorism, their role will be in providing assistance and intelligence coordination with their American counterparts."
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Piers Morgan gets into a heated debate about Trump's visit with a protester on Good Morning Britain during which she calls him an idiot
He added the Met Police's counter-terror officers - armed with sub-machine guns, glock pistols and Heckler and Koch assault rifles - will also be out in force.
Officers drafted in to help protect the president have today complained at the accommodation they have been offered.
The chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, John Apter, shared photos of camp beds crammed into a gym - where dozens of officers are expected to sleep.
He wrote on Twitter: "Prisoners arrested last night will have had better accommodation than those police officers ensuring the Presidential visit runs smoothly.
"Police Chiefs who talk well-being of their people need to take a long hard look at this. This is not acceptable."
Yesterday we reported Mrs May demanded Trump tackle Vladimir Putin over a series of international outrages including the Salibsury nerve agent atrocity.
The PM gave her blessing to the US President’s controversial summit with the outcast Russia boss in Helsinki on Monday.
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And this week Trump reignited his attack on Angela Merkel - after First Lady Melania attempted to smooth over tensions at NATO summit party.
The US President tore into the German Chancellor after a day of contentious meetings.
The pair spectacularly fell out earlier this week after he accused Germany of being “totally controlled by Russia” over a natural gas pipeline venture with Moscow.
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