WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden Retaining a blue-and-white color scheme for the exterior of the replacement Air Force One aircraft, the first of which is expected to be delivered in four years.
The Air Force said late Friday that the light blue of the new model of the modified 747s carrying the president will be deeper and more modern in tone than the robin’s egg blue of the versions of the plane in use today.
Boeing is redesigning two of its 747-800 aircraft to use the Air Force One call sign when the president is on board. They will replace the current fleet of two aging Boeing 747-200 aircraft currently used by the president.
The choice of colors for the plane’s exterior follows an earlier decision by the administration to scrap a red-white-and-blue design favored by Donald Trump, Biden’s immediate successor. An Air Force review suggested that darker colors would increase costs and delay delivery of the new jumbo jet.
In 2018, Trump ordered that the new jets shed the iconic Kennedy-era blue-and-white design for a white-and-navy color scheme. The top half of the plane would be white and the bottom, including the belly, would be dark blue. A streak of dark red runs from the cockpit to the tail. The color is almost identical to the exterior of Trump’s personal plane.
Formally known as the VC-25B, the new aircraft will replace the current fleet, known as the VC-25A, which the Air Force says is facing capability shortfalls, rising maintenance costs and “parts that are obsolete.” Changes to the successor aircraft will include power upgrades, medical facilities and self-defense systems, the Air Force said.
Delivery of the first of the new planes is planned for 2027, followed by the second plane in 2028, the Air Force said.
The current generation of planes first carried President George HW Bush, who served from 1989-1993.