Air Force One is the call signal used for the aircraft carrying the president. While the aircraft has changed over the years, it has always existed at the forefront of technology and defense. This flying fortress is the safest place in the sky, but it's also home to many mysteries.
Secrets of Air Force One
Today, we're exploring the hidden secrets of Air Force One. Air Force One is the most exclusive vehicle on earth. The plane is completely off limits to just about everybody. Even visiting politicians aren't allowed in some parts of the plane. And the Air Force is careful to conceal specific details of the craft's layout, including its advanced avionics and defenses. The onboard electronics are hard wired to protect against an electromagnetic pulse, and Air Force One is equipped with advanced, secure communications equipment, allowing the aircraft to function as a mobile command center in the event of an attack on the United States. The plane even has the ability to withstand an indirect nuclear blast. It's insulated from radiation and has a full hazmat team ready to jump into action. The body of the plane itself can withstand a nuclear blast from the ground. There are weapons hidden all over the plane, in addition to countermeasure defense systems to jam radar and flares embedded in the wings to confuse enemy missiles, a plane would normally be vulnerable to attack while in flight by challenging Air Force One would be an exercise in futility. It shouldn't come as a surprise that this highly technical aircraft is expensive to operate. The United States spares no expense when it comes to protecting the president.
Under President Obama, Air Force One cost a massive $56,000 an hour to operate. The plane had a few faults, though, including famously spotty WiFi. Allegedly, Obama learned about major policy decisions hours after the average American on a few instances because he couldn't connect his trusty BlackBerry to the wireless Internet.
Under President Trump, the cost of operation has risen immensely. The Air Force reported that the operating cost for each Vgc 25 A in 2018 was $210,877 per hour. This totals roughly $100 million a year. Presidential travel is a highly complex logistical operation involving hundreds of people, dozens of vehicles and a fleet of aircraft. As a result, it's easy to see how the bill can skyrocket very quickly. And this isn't even calculating the cost of the planes themselves. Each Vgc 25 a cost approximately $325 million. So this is a tiny fraction of the overall defense budget. It's a serious chunk of change to most people. In 2016, newly elected President Donald Trump publicly complained about the high cost of the replacement program, which he stated was over $4 billion. Boeing is building a brand new seven for seven Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion, Trump said in a tweet. Cancel order. In the end, the order was not canceled. But Trump met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg in an effort to reduce costs.
It takes an incredibly long time to manufacture these flying fortresses. Boeing received an order for new VC 25 BS, but they will not be available until 2024. Apparently, the technical manuals for the plane will cost $84 million all by themselves, and the total cost will be closer to 5.3 billion, including testing and construction.
The basic reason for updating them is that the existing fleet of planes are just getting old. Switching to newer planes provides the obvious benefits that come with a modern aircraft, more efficient engines and better reliability, and is also a chance to install new defense and communications equipment, says Todd Harrison, the director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Boeing won't be building the new Air Force ones from scratch, and in fact, the Air Force will technically buy the aircraft second hand as part of the cost saving efforts. Boeing sold the government 274788 aircraft that were built and intended to be delivered to a now defunct Russian airline, Trans Aero. A Boeing spokesperson confirmed to CNN.
Air Force One Security
Air Force One has always been founded on security. But after the tragedy of 911, it developed even more extreme defense mechanisms in case the president is ever in imminent danger. They have several tricks up their sleeve to keep them safe. The first feature came into play on 911 when President George W Bush evacuated from Sarasota, Florida. The plane took off at an unbelievably steep angle. Witnesses said that they couldn't believe their eyes. This was a feature designed to minimize exposure to missiles. Though Air Force One doesn't always use these evacuation procedures, they are available to use any time.
It wouldn't be very presidential to stop and refuel en route to a major diplomatic meeting. So Air Force One is equipped with highly advanced mechanics that allow the plane to be refueled while it's still flying. The staff is highly trained in this process and when needed, a fuel plane docks beside Air Force One and replenishes the tank. The planes have a range of more than 8000 miles, meaning that it doesn't need to use this feature often. But when it's running on empty, it is hugely beneficial. This equates to an unlimited travel range. In the event of a nuclear incident, the plane could remain aloft indefinitely in order to preserve any diplomats on board. This system has never been tested under hostile situations, but the Air Force is confident that it would fare well and the system requires a ton of fuel.
In fact, a single plane carries 53,000 gallons of fuel. Oddly, the new models are being constructed without the in-flight fueling feature. This has puzzled most experts, but the White House has not divulged any details regarding their phasing out in-flight refueling until they do. The public can only speculate. Many in Congress espouse skepticism for the decision. Strangely, to me, the Air Force has just announced that the next version of Air Force One will not have in-flight refueling capability, said Republican Senator Tom Cotton.
I think we might need to revisit that decision here on Capitol Hill. Many people picture a traditional passenger plane when they imagine Air Force One. The truth is, this plane is absolutely massive with three floors and 40,000 square feet of space. Air Force One can feel like a flying mansion. The crew prepares meals in two fully equipped galleys. They store a large amount of food in freezers in the lower sections of the plane.
The crew is equipped to feed about 100 people at a time, and the storage area holds as many as 2000 meals and weighs 377,000 kilograms when it's fully loaded for a long range flight and is capable of flying halfway around the world. Air Force One has a conference room, dining room, an Oval Office, a bedroom and bathroom for the president, as well as offices for senior staff members. This feature was born from the Cold War. At the time, people were concerned at the Soviet Union would devastate the United States with nuclear arms. As a result, the Air Force has four specially outfitted Boeing 7/47 known as E4 b Nightwatch planes. These function as a flying operation center so that the plotters can make decisions with a group of advisors while safely floating 30,000 feet above the earth. They are staffed with military analysts who are prepared to deal with any threat imaginable. Though the threat of Soviet dominance has diminished, at least one of these planes is flying with the produce at all times, just in case a doomsday event arises. Of course, it's imperative that the President remain completely connected while they were in the air.
To accommodate this, they installed 85 telephones, distributed evenly around the airplane just in case an important call comes in. The president must be able to pick up immediately, no matter where he is situated in the plane. Of course, the aircraft is now outfitted with state of the art Internet connectivity, in addition to two way radios, fax machines, 19 televisions and different office equipment. In an emergency scenario, it's possible that a sitting president or one of their staff could be in medical danger to deal with this.
Air Force One is equipped with a full scale hospital in addition to a full medical staff, There's an operating room and all other high quality medical tools and a pharmacy. More so there is an extra reserve of blood in the refrigerator that matches the president's blood type. Air Force One contains a full surgical suite with an operating table, two beds, resuscitation equipment, various medical monitors, and a full pharmacy. Air Force Two contains a first aid unit, as well as an automated external defibrillator. Oxygen tanks and limited pharmaceuticals. Staff may also carry operating room equipment in backpacks to provide emergency medical care as needed on site when the temporary operating room is too distant. A physician and nurse also usually accompany the first lady when she travels, but a full medical staff and mobile operating suite are not assigned to her. This is just one in a long list of precautions to guarantee their family's health.
