If you’ve been following the news media which falls all over itself every time PEOTUS blows another tweet out of his butt, you may have heard a thing or two about the new Air Force One on order from Boeing. If you’re a low-information voter or a Trump supporter (but I repeat myself), you got the not so subtle message that A) Donald Trump is personally making sure Big Corporations are not ripping off the taxpayers, B) He’s going to get a better deal on the price, and C) He’s actually working at running the government.
If you’re someone who tries to find out what the real story is, you already know Trump was annoyed at Boeing complaints about his actions towards China, a big Boeing customer. You also know he came up with a price tag for the planes that’s more than the expected cost — a number nobody seems to know where he got it from. He’s also sending a message to the business world: play along with him, stroke his ego, and give him opportunities to generate self-promoting headlines. Cross him, and he’ll make you a target. (Besides — what does he care about new planes for the President? — they won’t be ready till long after he’s gone.)
You might also know he’s been skipping presidential briefings, has been ignoring the State Department and what they might want him to know before he makes those phone calls, and has been running off on his extended victory tour for more ego boosting. But he still has time to tweet.
He’s also drawing media attention away from the cabinet of rich lunatics, ideologues and scary people he’s nominating. (Kevin Drum Swamp Watch here.) It’s also drawing attention away from the Republican Congressional plans to take us back to the 1890s by demolishing Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Food Stamps, etc. etc.
But Enough About The Oncoming Train Wreck — What About Air Force One?
The BBC has a good run down on what it takes to build a plane suitable for carrying the President around.
To say the president flies in a 747-200 does not paint the full picture. Air Force One's designation is actually VC-25A: a military plane.
The commercial skeleton is essentially custom-built to transform it, in the White House's words, into "a mobile command centre in the event of an attack on the United States".
The budget sheet for the replacement plane includes upgrading all the electrical systems to military grade and twin backup power systems, for example.
Those upgrades mean Air Force One is shielded against an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) - a type of energy burst that can damage most electronics. It's a side effect of nuclear weapons detonated at high altitude.
Other upgrades include military communications equipment and the "self-defence system".
Air Force One is not an “off the shelf” product. The two aircraft Boeing will be building for the role have a unique mission to carry out — and they need extensive modification to do it. There’s quite a bit more at the BBC link, including mention of some of the other facilities on board.
Like the helicopters that carry the President, the plane has become an icon of the Presidency, going back to the first one to use the Air Force One call sign. It’s more than a perk of the office; it’s an essential tool for the President.