US Air Force unveils new color scheme for Air Force One

WASHINGTON. Air Force One, which provides air transport for the President of the United States, is undergoing upgrades for its next fleet.

On Friday, the US Air Force unveiled the latest design of the Next Air Force One aircraft. The announcement of the new color scheme comes almost a year after President Joe Biden scrapped former President Donald Trump’s proposed red, white and blue design for the presidential jet.

The new aircraft, officially known as the VC-25B, should replace the older VC-25A. The new designs chosen by President Joe Biden are not much different from the current Boeing 747-200 and will not add additional costs to the program.

With the idea of ​​modernizing iconic aircraft for the 21st century, the new design will feature a darker and more modern shade of the original aircraft’s light blue. In addition, the engines will use the darker blue cockpit of the current Air Force One.

Another change is that next-generation aircraft will not have a polished metal section because modern commercial aircraft skin alloys do not allow this, 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 not changed much.

The current generation of aircraft first carried President George W. Bush, who served from 1989 to 1993.

The VC-25A fleet is facing a shortage of capabilities, rising maintenance costs and obsolescent parts, according to the Air Force. In the new generation of aircraft, it is planned to add power supply upgrades, a mission communications system, a medical station, a self-defense system and other modifications.

In June 2022, the Biden administration reversed Trump’s order to replace the iconic Kennedy-era blue and white robin design with a deeper navy blue with a deep red stripe.

Trump’s livery design was abandoned after an Air Force review suggested it would increase costs and delay delivery of new aircraft.

Trump’s design used the colors of the American flag. The top half of the aircraft will be white, while the bottom half, including the belly, will be covered in dark blue. A bold red stripe will run from the cockpit to the tail across the midsection – almost identical to the color scheme on Trump’s private jet, except that the white and blue have been reversed.

The first of the VC-25Bs is due to be delivered by 2027 and the second aircraft will be ready by 2028.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.