Monday 18 / November / 2024
Washington: The US Air Force revealed a new colour scheme for Air Force One, scrapping the colours chosen by former US President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration will modify the Air Force One paint scheme, but the update will closely resemble the current white with two shades of blue that dates back to President John F. Kennedy's administration, the Air Force said Friday.
Former president Trump proposed a more prominent red, white and blue design, with a deep red stripe down the middle of the aircraft and a dark blue underbelly. The colouring he proposed was almost identical to the exterior of his personal plane.
A statement by the Air Force on Friday said that the colour scheme proposed by Trump would lead to possible delays and tests to deal with "the added heat" from the colour palette.
Instead, the Biden administration chose a paint scheme in which the current "robin's egg" blue will be slightly "deeper" and the engines will be a darker blue, the Air Force said. The jet's belly will not be polished metal because the alloy would allow for that, they said.
The new aircraft is set to replace the current fleet, known as VC-25A, which the Air Force said are challenged by capability gaps, rising maintenance costs and "parts obsolescence." Revisions to the successor aircraft will encompass electrical power upgrades, a medical facility and a self-defense system, the Air Force said.
In 2022, the Air Force said Boeing was scheduled to deliver the next-generation Air Force One 747s in 2026 and 2027.
On Friday, the military said they are now expected to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, making whoever wins the 2024 election the first president to take off in the new aircrafts.
The program is now at least three years behind in schedule.
The company was originally contracted to build two 747-8 aircrafts for use as Air Force One, to be delivered by December 2024.
Boeing is immensely altering a pair of 747s for the project.
