Air Force Two is theair traffic control designatedcall sign held by anyUnited States Air Force aircraft carrying thevice president of the United States, but not thepresident.[1][2] The term is often associated with theBoeing C-32, a modified757 which is most commonly used as the vice president's transport. Other89th Airlift Wing aircraft, such as theBoeing C-40 Clipper,C-20B,C-37A, andC-37B, have also served in this role.[citation needed] TheVC-25A, the aircraft most often used by the president asAir Force One, has also been used by the vice president as Air Force Two.[3][4]
Richard Nixon was one of the first senior officials in American government to travel internationally via jet aircraft on official business, taking aBoeing VC-137A Stratoliner on his visit to theSoviet Union in July 1959 for theKitchen Debates as Eisenhower's vice president.[5][6]
Domestically, non-presidential VIP travel still relied on the prop poweredConvair VC-131 Samaritan aircraft untilNelson Rockefeller was named Gerald Ford's vice president in 1974. Rockefeller personally owned aGrumman Gulfstream II jet that he preferred to the much slower Convair; Rockefeller's Gulfstream II then used the "Executive Two" callsign while he was in office. This would prompt the89th Airlift Wing's acquisition of threeMcDonnell Douglas VC-9Cs in 1975, adding to their three VC-137s jets used for senior executive international travel.[7][8]
Prior senior executive aircraft included the former presidentialDouglas VC-54 Skymaster,Douglas VC-118A, andLockheed C-121 Constellations, held in reserve as back-up aircraft for the newer aircraft designated for presidential travel.
Aircraft allocated for use by the vice president andsenior executives authorized to travel under theSpecial Air Mission designation operated by the89th Airlift Wing can be distinguished from the distinctiveRaymond LoewyAir Force One livery by the lack of thesteel blue cheatline and cap over the cockpit.[9][10]
Former presidential aircraft that has been redesignated for non-presidential VIP travel will be repainted in the secondary livery as illustrated in the difference betweenVC-137C SAM 26000 andVC-137C SAM 27000's current paint schemes. Both SAM 26000 and SAM 27000 were relegated to a non-presidential VIP role upon delivery of their replacements, but SAM 27000 was repainted by theReagan Library to match its Reagan era paint scheme (see chronology ofSAM 27000 images under Reagan, George W. Bush, and as currently maintained by the library).[9][11]
In 2012,Joe Biden switched to another plane after the plane in which he was flying in California struck birds.[12][13] A similar incident in 2020 involving a bird strike in the engine during takeoff caused Air Force Two to land back at a nearby New Hampshire airport while it was carryingMike Pence and some of his staff.[14] In June 2021, Air Force Two, withKamala Harris aboard, was forced to return toJoint Base Andrews inMaryland after suffering a "technical issue." Harris—who was on her way to Guatemala—resumed her flight on a different aircraft approximately an hour and a half later.[15]
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