Air Force One

Air Force One is considered to be the most secure plane in world. The duty of American President’s transportation from one place to another is effectively carried out by Air Force One. Air Force One is a Boeing 747-200B military aircraft in a true manner that was modified to meet presidential requirements. The contractor company Boeing delivered twin 747-200B planes designated as VC-25 with tail numbers 28000 and 29000, which were modified to incorporate the most advanced communication and cutting edge technologies, these aircrafts replaced the Boeing 707-320 airframe that served former American Presidents for nearly 30 years. The plane showed its use as more than only an executive jumbo jet when it was a high time and almost any ground position seemed to be vulnerable to attack on September 11th, that time, the president was given security by Air Force One aircraft which became a mobile and safest bunker for the president.

Air Force One is also called as "The Flying White House" or "Oval Office" has 4,000 square feet of interior floor space, which features a conference/dining room, quarters for the president and the first lady, an office area for senior staff members and not to forget many out of the world and most advanced cutting edge technologies. The plane has every facility that is required; the other office in the plane can be converted into a medical facility if required, this plane also has a staff doctor who travels wherever president goes. The plane has areas which are divided into work and rest areas for the president, presidential staff, media representatives and Air Force crews. The plane has two galleys which are capable of providing food for 50 people each.

The aircraft was modified to contain different lobes, the lower lobe contains cargo, the middle lobe accommodates rooms for staff and other passengers and the highest lobe is dedicated to communication set up. The lower lobes of the aircraft were modified to contain staircases, a highly important store-room where food up to 2000 meals can be stored; it also accommodates important equipments which are used during missions. This area also contains some highly advanced electronic gadgets. The wiring and all the electronic devices in the Air Force One are shielded for protection from electromagnetic pulses which can be generated by thermonuclear blast or any other such thing. The communication system on the plane provides worldwide transmission and reception of normal and secure communications. The equipment includes about 85 telephones, multi-frequency radios for air to air, air to ground and satellite communications which can connect president with anyone who is even thousand of miles away from him. There are some secure and encrypted telephone lines among the 85 telephone lines; it also has radio communication devices other than telephone lines, faxes, many television sets and computer connections which connects the plane with outer world. Air Force One is world’s most advanced plane which carries systems that are not known to many. It has aerial refueling capability which provides it with indefinite fly time during emergencies, and virtually unlimited range. The aircraft has state of the art navigation, communication and defense system.

The Air Force One fleet is flown by Presidential Airlift Group, and is assigned to Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 jet engines with a thrust of 56,700 pounds by each engine, nearly 71 meter in length, the plane has a height which is nearly 19.3 meters, the wingspan is of about 60 meters, the plane can attain speed of 630 miles per hour i.e. 0.92 Mach, and about 4,000 feet of floor space, can accommodate about 95 passengers and 2000 meals at a time, these are the general characteristics of the plane. Along with these the plane has an automatic baggage loader and many other features which make this plane self-sufficient and it does not have to depend on the host airport’s facilities, this is concerned with security issues.

Every time Air Force One flies, it is considered as a mission. And different teams are deployed to perform different tasks. Marine One helicopter brings president to Air Force One, during this time the security teams all over the base keep an eye on any unauthorized activity and they have a permission to shoot at sight. Also the land where president has to land, all the vehicles like limousines and vans are send in advance, which are bulletproof and loaded with all the necessary weaponry to keep president safe. The crew of the aircraft is highly classified military personnel who are trained in every aspect and can withstand any situation, they are trained to understand and use different tactics which are used right from buying food for president to handling securing related issues. Along with this there are many other things which are serving US presidents in Air Force One, still unknown to people and are virtually impossible to be exposed as these things are concerned with the security of the president.