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The mission of the VC-25A ¡§Air Force One¡¨, is
to provide air transport for the president of the United States.
Presidential air transport began in 1944 when the C-54 ¡§Sacred Cow" was
put into service for President
Franklin D.
Roosevelt. While the call sign "Air Force One" was first used in the
50s, President Kennedy's VC-137 was the first aircraft to be popularly
known as "Air Force One". The two VC-25A currently in U.S. service is
highly a modified version of 747-200B. The first VC-25A, tail number
28000, flew as "Air Force One" in 1990, when it transported President
George Bush. A second VC-25A, tail number 29000, transported Presidents
Bill Clinton. The VC-25A can also be operated as military command center
in the event of an incident such as a nuclear attack. Operational
modifications include aerial refueling capability and anti-aircraft
missile countermeasures. The electronics on board are connected with
approximately 238 miles of wiring, twice that of a regular 747. All
wiring is covered with heavy shielding for protection from an
electromagnetic pulse in the event of a nuclear attack. The aircraft
also has electronic countermeasures (ECMs) to jam enemy radar, flares to
avoid heat-seeking missiles, and chaff to avoid radar-guided missiles.
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