WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden maintains a blue and white color scheme for the exterior of the Air Force One replacement aircraft, the first of which is expected to be delivered in four years.
The Air Force said Friday night that the light blue on the new model of the modified 747 carrying the president will be a bit deeper and more modern in tone than the robin’s egg blue on the versions of the planes currently in use.
Boeing is modifying two of its 747-800 aircraft which will use the call sign of Air Force One when the president is on board. They will replace the existing fleet of two aging Boeing 747-200 aircraft currently used by the president.
The choice of the aircraft’s exterior colors follows an earlier decision by the administration of throw away a red, white and blue design favored by Donald TrumpBiden’s immediate predecessor. An Air Force review suggested darker colors would increase costs and delay delivery of the new jumbo jets.
In 2018, Trump ordered new planes to swap out the iconic Kennedy-era blue and white design for a white and navy color scheme. The upper half of the plane would have been white, and the lower part, including the belly, would have been dark blue. A dark red stripe would have run from the cockpit to the tail. The color was 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 capacity gaps, rising maintenance costs and “parts obsolescence.” Modifications to the successor plane will include electrical power upgrades, a medical center and a self-defense system, the Air Force said.
Delivery of the first of the new planes is scheduled for 2027, followed by the second plane in 2028, the Air Force said.
The current generation of aircraft carried for the first time President George H. W. Bush, who served from 1989 to 1993.