Google Founders' New Fighter Jet Works For NASA

H21 LLC, the company controlled by Google's top executives, to manage their planes, has added an interesting new purchase, a Dornier Alpha Jet. What does Google need with a fighter jet?

The NY Times reports that the Alpha Jet is being outfitted with scientific instruments for NASA missions. H21 LLC already has an agreement with NASA to fly out of Moffett Field which is located near the Google campus. The plane will be used by the Google executives' pilots would use the Dornier Alpha Jet mainly for "training and pilot proficiency."

Last year,H21 LLC signed a contract with NASA giving them rights to use Moffett Field with NASA receiving $1.3 million in rent every year and the right to put scientific instruments on the planes for use by its researchers. It turned out they couldn't make the necessary alterations to the existing planes without getting new certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration each time. Because the Alpha Jet is considered an experimental aircraft and not a passenger jet it is not subject to the same restrictions.