Air Force One is the officialair traffic control-designatedcall sign for aUnited States Air Force aircraft carrying thepresident of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president, and as ametonym for the primary presidential aircraft,VC-25, although it can be used to refer to any Air Force aircraft the president travels on.[1][2]
Other aircraft designated as Air Force One have included another Lockheed Constellation,Columbine III; threeBoeing 707s, introduced in the 1960s and 1970s; and the currentBoeing VC-25As. Since 1990, the presidential fleet has consisted of two highly customizedBoeing 747-200B (VC-25A) aircraft.[6] The USAF has ordered twoBoeing 747-8s to serve as the next presidential aircraft, designated VC-25Bs and expected to enter service no earlier than 2026.[8]
On 11 October 1910,Theodore Roosevelt became the first US president to fly in an aircraft, an earlyWright Flyer fromKinloch Field nearSt. Louis,Missouri. He was no longer in office at the time, having been succeeded byWilliam Howard Taft. The record-making occasion was a brief overflight of the crowd at a county fair but was nonetheless the beginning of presidential air travel.[11]
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an aircraft while in office. The first aircraft obtained specifically for presidential travel was aDouglas Dolphinamphibian modified with luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment. Designated RD-2 by the US Navy, it was delivered in 1933 and based at thenaval base at Anacostia in Washington, D.C.[12] The aircraft remained in service as a presidential transport from 1939.[13]
Concerned about relying upon commercial airlines to transport the president, officials of theUnited States Army Air Forces, the predecessor of the US Air Force, ordered the conversion of a military aircraft to accommodate the special needs of thecommander-in-chief.[17] In 1943, aC-87A transport, number 41-24159, was modified to carry President Franklin D. Roosevelt on international trips. But after a review of the C-87's controversial safety record, the Secret Service flatly refused to approve the aircraft for presidential carriage. The C-87, a derivative of theConsolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, also carried more militaristic associations than aircraft designed for transport. The aircraft, namedGuess Where II, was used to transport senior members of the Roosevelt administration on various trips. In March 1944, it flewEleanor Roosevelt on a goodwill tour of several Latin American countries. The C-87 was scrapped in 1945.[18]
The Secret Service subsequently reconfigured a DouglasC-54 Skymaster for presidential transport duty. The VC-54C aircraft, nicknamed theSacred Cow, included asleeping area,radiotelephone, and retractable battery-poweredelevator to lift Roosevelt in his wheelchair. The VC-54C flew President Roosevelt only once, to theYalta Conference in February 1945.[17]
TheNational Security Act of 1947, the legislation that created the US Air Force, was signed by PresidentHarry S. Truman aboard the VC-54C.[17] He replaced the VC-54C in 1947 with a modifiedC-118 Liftmaster, calling it theIndependence after his Missouri hometown. It was given a distinctive exterior, as its nose was painted like the head of abald eagle. The plane included a stateroom in the aft fuselage and a main cabin that could seat 24 passengers or could be made up into 12 sleeper berths. It is now housed at theNational Museum of the United States Air Force inDayton, Ohio.[19]
Columbine II is the first plane to bear thecall sign Air Force One, it was Lockheed Constellation configured for VIP travel and replaced an earlier Constellation calledColumbine. This designation for the US Air Force aircraft carrying the incumbent president was established after a 1954 incident in which a commercial flight,Eastern Air Lines 8610, crossed paths with Air Force 8610, which was carrying President Eisenhower. Initially used informally, the designation became official in 1962.[24][25][19][26][27]
Toward the end of Eisenhower's second term, Secretary of StateJohn Foster Dulles commented that Soviet premierNikita Khrushchev and other senior Soviet officials had begun using the technologically advancedTupolev Tu-114 aircraft for their travels, and it was no longer dignified for the president to fly in a propeller-driven aircraft. This paved the way for the Air Force's initial procurement of threeBoeing 707-120 (VC-137A)jet aircraft, designatedSAM (Special Air Missions) 970, 971 and972.[28][29]
The high-speedjet technology built into these aircraft enabled presidents from Eisenhower through Nixon to travel long distances more quickly for face-to-face meetings with world leaders.[30] Then-Vice PresidentRichard Nixon first used a VC-137A on his visit to Russia in July 1959 for theKitchen Debates. The following month, Eisenhower became the first president to fly via jet airplane when he usedSAM 970, nicknamed"Queenie", to meet German ChancellorKonrad Adenauer. During Eisenhower's "Flight to Peace" goodwill tour in December 1959, he visited 11 Asian nations, flying 22,000 miles (35,000 km) in 19 days, twice as fast as he could have covered that distance in one of theColumbines.[19][31][32]
SAM 970 toSAM 972 were removed from the presidential role with the early-1960s arrival of the specially built VC-137C designatedSAM 26000. The older planes were repainted in the Loewy secondary livery designed forAir Force Two and other non-presidential VIP aircraft.SAM 970 is now on display atThe Museum of Flight inSeattle, Washington.[30]SAM 971, best remembered for returning the Americans held during theIran hostage crisis in 1981, is on display at thePima Air and Space Museum inTucson, Arizona.[33]SAM 972 was scrapped in October 1996.[citation needed]
The newVC-137C was not yet modified for presidential service whenJohn F. Kennedy took office in 1961. On the recommendation of his wife,Jacqueline Kennedy, he contacted the French-born American industrial designerRaymond Loewy for help in designing new livery and interiors for the VC-137C.[6][34][35]
Loewy, who had seenSAM 970, complained to a friend in theWhite House that it "had a garish orange nose and looked too much like a military plane", Air Force One historian and former Smithsonian curator Von Hardesty toldCNN. He offered Kennedy his design consultation services free of charge.[7][36]
Kennedy chose a red-and-gold design from one of Loewy's initial concept sketches, and asked him to render the design all in blue. Loewy also drew inspiration from the first printed copy of theUnited States Declaration of Independence, suggesting the widely spaced and upper case"United States of America" legend inCaslon typeface. He chose to expose the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side and used two blues,steel blue associated with the early republic and the presidency and a more contemporary water blue, to represent an America both rooted in the past and flying inexorably into the future. Thepresidential seal was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose and a large American flag was painted on the tail. Loewy's work won immediate praise from the president and the press. Thecheatline suggested a sleek and horizontal image that mirrored America'sJet Age optimism and prosperity of the era, and today signifies its legacy and tradition.[7][37][38][39]
Loewy's VC-137C livery was adapted for the largerVC-25A when it entered service in 1990, and the secondary variation (without the darker blue cheatline and cap over the cockpit) is still in use on USAFC-40,C-37,C-32, andC-20 aircraft in standard (non-presidential) VIP configurations. The presidential paint scheme can also be seen onUnion Pacific 4141, the locomotive used inGeorge H. W. Bush's funeral train.[40][19]
UnderJohn F. Kennedy, presidential air travel entered the jet age.[41] Although he could use the Eisenhower-era jets for trips to Canada, France,Austria, and the United Kingdom, when he came into office, his primary aircraft domestically was still a prop poweredDouglas VC-118A Liftmaster.[42] In October 1962, the modified long-range Boeing VC-137C StratolinerSAM 26000, featuring livery designed by Loewy, was delivered and immediately became an important element of the Kennedy administration's brand.[34]
SAM 26000 was in service from 1962 to 1998, serving presidents Kennedy toClinton. On 22 November 1963,SAM 26000 carried President Kennedy to Dallas, Texas, where it served as the backdrop as the Kennedys greeted well-wishers at Dallas'sLove Field. Later that afternoon, Kennedy wasassassinated, and Vice PresidentLyndon Johnson assumed the office of president. He took theoath of office aboardSAM 26000 before departing to Washington, D.C.[43] Later, in January 1973,SAM 26000 took Johnson's body home to Texas after his state funeral in Washington.[44][45]
Johnson usedSAM 26000 to travel extensively domestically and to visit troops in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.SAM 26000 served President Nixon on several groundbreaking overseas voyages, including his famousvisit to the People's Republic of China in February 1972 and his trip to theSoviet Union later that year, both firsts for an American president.[46] Nixon dubbed the plane the "Spirit of '76" in honor of the forthcoming bicentennial of the United States; that logo was painted on both sides of the plane's nose.[47]
SAM 26000 was replaced in December 1972 by another VC-137C,Special Air Mission 27000, although SAM 26000 was relegated to non-presidential VIP status (and repainted without the darker blue cap and cheatline), it served as a backup toSAM 27000 until it was finally retired in 1998.[44]
In June 1974, while President Nixon was on his way to a scheduled stop inSyria, Syrian fighter jets intercepted Air Force One to act as escorts. The crew was not informed in advance, so took evasive action including a dive.[48]
After announcing his intention to resign the presidency, Nixon boardedSAM 27000 (with call sign "Air Force One") to travel to California. Colonel Ralph Albertazzie, then pilot of Air Force One, recounted that afterGerald Ford was sworn in as president, the plane had to be redesignated asSAM 27000, indicating no president was on board the aircraft. Over Jefferson City, Missouri, Albertazzie radioed: "Kansas City, this was Air Force One. Will you change our call sign to Sierra Alpha Mike (SAM) 27000?" Back came the reply: "Roger, Sierra Alpha Mike 27000. Good luck to the president."[49]
SAM 28000 sits on the ramp as SAM 29000 descends on final approach toHickam Field with PresidentGeorge W. Bush
ThoughRonald Reagan's two terms as president saw no major changes to Air Force One, the manufacture of the presidential aircraft version of the747 began during his presidency. The USAF issued arequest for proposal in 1985 for two wide-body aircraft with a minimum of three engines and an unrefueled range of 6,000 miles (9,700 km). Boeing with the 747 and McDonnell Douglas with theDC-10 submitted proposals, and theReagan Administration ordered two identical 747s to replace the aging 707 VC-137 variants he used.[6][50] The interior designs, drawn up by First LadyNancy Reagan, were reminiscent of theAmerican Southwest.[50]
When PresidentGeorge W. Bush left office in January 2009, he flew to Texas in a VC-25 that used call sign SAM 28000, as it did not carry the current president of the United States. Similar arrangements were made for former presidentsRonald Reagan,Bill Clinton, andBarack Obama.[citation needed] PresidentDonald Trump flew to hisMar-a-Lago estate aboard Air Force One on the final day of his first presidency in January 2021.[51]
After the deaths of former presidentsGerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, VC-25 aircraft flew their remains to their home states ofMichigan and California, respectively.[citation needed]
On 27 April 2009, a low-flying VC-25 circled New York City for aphoto-op andtraining exercise, alarming many New Yorkers.[52]
During Joe Biden's2023 visit to Ukraine, the Air Force One call sign was not used for the C-32 aircraft he flew toPoland; to increase secrecy, the call sign wasSAM060.[53]
The presidential limousine being sent via Boeing C-17 prior to the arrival ofAir Force One.
When flying with the President, Air Force One rarely flies alone. It is often accompanied by a fleet of aircraft that can include the back-up VC-25, cargo aircraft, and tankers.[54] In such cases, up to half a dozen cargo aircraft, such as theBoeing C-17 Globemaster III or theLockheed C-5 Galaxy, precede AF1 by a couple days or more, bringing thepresidential limousine andSikorsky VH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, along with Secret Service personnel and several hundred maintenance crew. Longer trips are accompanied by tankers, such as theMcDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, to limit the need to stop for fuel and ensure that AF1 does not take fuel from an unvetted source.[54][55]
The support aircraft will often use several airports in a region to minimize the impact to one particular airport, and Secret Service may also preposition a GulfstreamC-37B orBoeing E-4 in a neighboring region for backup.[56][57]
In addition to the president, staff, and flight crew, a VC-25A can carry 102 guests in typical domestic business-classseats. The back-up VC-25 typically flies with 14 crew, two pilots, six flight crew, two cooks, and four flight attendants. When transporting the president, the primary VC-25A has three cooks and 15 flight attendants, 20 or more Secret Service agents, and some 40 members of the presidentialpress pool. During international state visits, another aircraft may be chartered to accommodate another 150 or more journalists and security personnel.[54]
Some time later, air traffic controllers warned Tillman that a passenger jet was nearby and not responding to radio calls. Tillman recalls: "As we got overGainesville, Florida, we got the word from Jacksonville Center. They said, 'Air Force One you have traffic behind you and basically above you that is descending into you, we are not in contact with them—they have shut their responder [sic] off.' And at that time it kind of led us to believe maybe someone was coming into us in Sarasota, they saw us take off, they just stayed high and are following us at this point. We had no idea what the capabilities of the terrorists were at that point."[58] Tillman then flew Air Force One over theGulf of Mexico in order, he later said, to test whether the other aircraft would follow. The other jet continued on its route, and Tillman said that it was later explained to him that an airliner had lost itstransponder, which normally broadcasts an electronic identification signal, and that the pilots on board neglected to switch to another radio frequency.
Later, Tillman received a warning of an imminent attack on Air Force One. "We got word from the vice president and the staff that 'Angel was next,' indicating the classified call sign for Air Force One. Once we got into the Gulf [of Mexico] and they passed to us that 'Angel was next,' at that point I asked for fighter support. If an airliner was part of the attack, it would be good to have fighters on the wing to go ahead and take care of us." At this point, Tillman said that the plan to fly the president back to Washington, D.C., was aborted for concerns that Air Force One would be attacked atAndrews Air Force Base. Instead, Tillman landed atBarksdale Air Force Base,Louisiana, andOffutt Air Force Base,Nebraska, where the president made a speech.[58] After these stops, the president was returned to Washington, D.C.
The next day, officials at theWhite House and theJustice Department explained that President Bush did this because there was "specific and credible information that the White House and Air Force One were also intended targets".[59] The White House could not confirm evidence of a threat to Air Force One, and investigation found the original claim to be a result of miscommunication.[60]
Illustration of the VC-25B color scheme announced March 2023
The VC-25As are to be replaced as the cost of maintaining the aging systems on their 30-year-old airframes and less efficient GE-CF6 engines has begun to surpass the cost of acquiring a new aircraft.[61] On 28 January 2015, the Air Force announced that theBoeing 747-8 would be the next presidential aircraft.[62][63] The USGovernment Accountability Office estimated the total cost at $3.2 billion, and the US Air Force's budget for the program is projected to be nearly $4 billion. In December 2016, Boeing was on contract for preliminary development worth $170 million (~$217 million in 2024).[64][65][66]
During his first presidency, Donald Trump renegotiated aspects of the contract with Boeing, and threatened to cancel the program if the overall cost exceeded $4 billion.[67] In an effort to cut costs, the Air Force contracted to purchase two completed but undeliveredTransaero 747-8 intercontinental aircraft from Boeing in 2017.[68][69]
The following year, Boeing struck a deal with Trump to adorn the new planes with a "patriotic color scheme" featuring a deep red stripe down the middle of the aircraft and a dark blue underbelly. Plagued by multiple delays, and the rising cost of the aircraft, this color scheme was scrapped, and a modernized version of the classicAir Force One design was made public in March 2023. The first VC-25B is scheduled to be delivered in 2027, while the second will come the following year.[67][70]
In September 2020, the US Air Force announced several Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate contracts signed with aircraft manufacturers to begin development of asupersonic aircraft that could function as Air Force One. Contracts have been signed withExosonic,[71]Hermeus,[72][73] andBoom.[74]
On 21 May 2025, theTrump administration accepted aBoeing 747-8 as a gift from theroyal family of Qatar. The administration plans to use it as the new Air Force One. With an estimated value of US$400 million, this will be the most valuable gift extended to the US from a foreign government.[75] For this aircraft to be used as Air Force One, it will have to undergo extensive inspection and modifications to afford the protection to the president that current Air Force One aircraft provide. These modifications will not be completed until after 2028.[76] On 28 May 2025, theWashington Post reported that no deal had been agreed because Qatar required amemorandum of understanding confirming that any transfer request had been initiated by the US in order to ensure that Qatar had no legal liability.[77] On 7 July 2025,Pete Hegseth signed the memorandum of understanding.[78]
United Airlines is the only commercial airline to have operatedExecutive One, the call sign given to a civilian flight on which the US president is aboard. On 26 December 1973, PresidentRichard Nixon and his family flew as commercial passengers on a UnitedDC-10 fromWashington Dulles toLos Angeles International Airport. His staff explained that this was done to conserve fuel by not having to fly the usual Boeing 707 Air Force aircraft.[83]
On 8 March 2000, President Clinton flew to Pakistan aboard an unmarkedGulfstream III while another aircraft with the call signAir Force One flew on the same route a few minutes later. This diversion was reported by several US press outlets.[85][86][87]
SeveralBoeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs typically accompany the president whenever he travels, carrying thepresidential limousines and other support vehicles, and have been rumored to have discreetly transported presidents and vice presidents in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan without using theAir Force One call sign.[91][92]
ABoeing C-32 (Boeing 757) that was occasionally used as Air Force One until the arrival of newer C-32s in the 2010s. Today, this plane flies the vice president (serving asAir Force Two) or other senior officials.
Since 1998, the president has occasionally flown aboard an Air ForceC-32, anarrow-body jet based on theBoeing 757 airliner.[93][94] The Air Force bought four C-32s in 1996 to fly the president to airports whose runways were too small to accommodate the larger VC-25, or as emergency backup. Today, these aircraft are used to fly vice presidents and other senior officials.[95] The C-32 has also been used by presidents when use of the VC-25 could present operational risks. For example in 2023 when President Biden traveled to Ukraine via Poland using the C-32 to avoid the publicity of the VC-25.[96]
In the 2010s, the Air Force acquired a second set of four 757s for presidential transport, assigning them tail numbers 90015, 90016, 90017, and 90018. Service officials do not acknowledge that these aircraft exist, although they are routinely photographed in presidential service.[95]
Vice presidents have used a VC-25 on longer trips, using theAir Force Two call sign.[97]
The president regularly flies in helicopters (call signMarine One) operated by the U.S. Marine Corps.[98]
VC-137BSAM 970, used from 1959 to 1962 as Air Force One and until 1996 in the presidential fleet, is on display atThe Museum of Flight inSeattle, Washington.[30]
A fictionalized version of Air Force One is depicted in the 1997 feature filmAir Force One. The cabin was built to scale and is as accurate as the production designers could possibly make it. "There weren’t any blueprints or floor plans available, so we had to watch CNN to see what the inside looked like," said the film’s directorWolfgang Petersen.[103]
^Price, Mark J. (23 November 2014). "Local history: Cuyahoga Falls aviator Billy Draper named 'Air Force One' as Eisenhower's pilot".Akron Beacon Journal.
^abThomma, Steve (20 May 1998). "Presidential Plane Heads for History; This Air Force One Served Every President Since Kennedy. A Museum is Next".The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A14.
^Karni, Annie (5 February 2021)."After Years in Government, Biden Has a New Perk: Air Force One".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved6 February 2021.Mr. Biden rode on Air Force One on Friday afternoon, but not the one that has so delighted his predecessors. He jogged up the stairs of the Boeing 757-200, which is a smaller, narrow-body jet used for smaller airports like the one Mr. Biden was set to arrive at in Wilmington.
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