The iconic Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue and white design has remained largely unchanged over the years.
WASHINGTON — Air Force One, the jet responsible for providing air transportation to the President of the United States, is being upgraded for its next fleet of aircraft.
US Air Force on Friday presented the latest design of the aircraft “Next Air Force One”. The announcement of the new color scheme comes nearly a year after President Joe Biden abandoned former President Donald Trump’s proposed red, white and blue design for the presidential plane.
The new aircraft, formally known as the VC-25B, are to replace the older VC-25A aircraft. The new design, chosen by President Joe Biden, does not stray far from the current Boeing 747-200 aircraft and will not add additional costs to the program.
With the idea of modernizing the iconic aircraft for the 21st century, the new designs will have a darker and more modern tone to the light blue of the original aircraft. In addition, the current Air Force One’s engines will use a darker blue cockpit color.
Another change is that the next-generation aircraft will not have a polished metal section because current commercial aircraft skin alloys do not allow it, the US Air Force said.
According to Boeing history, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose new colors for the plane used by her husband, President John F. Kennedy. Since then, the design of the aircraft has remained practically unchanged.
The VC-25A fleet faces capability gaps, rising maintenance costs and aging parts, according to the Air Force. It is planned to add modernization of electrical supply, communication system, medical station, self-defense system and other modifications to the new generation of aircraft.
In June 2022 The Biden administration reversed Trump’s order to replace the iconic Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue and white design with a deeper navy blue with a dark red stripe.
Trump’s paint design was scrapped after an Air Force review suggested it would increase costs and delay the delivery of new planes.
Trump’s design used the colors of the American flag. The top half of the plane would be white, while dark blue would cover the bottom half, including the belly. A bold red stripe ran from the cockpit to the tail down the middle — almost identical to the color scheme on Trump’s personal jet, except the white and blue were reversed.
The first of the VC-25Bs is due to be delivered by 2027, with the second aircraft to be completed by 2028.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/nation-world/air-force-one-plane-new-color-scheme/507-369ae5a6-4622-45a5-a455-18383fc2335c
