Air Force One

Air Force One is the official air traffic control–designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used to transport the president, and as a metonym for the primary presidential aircraft, VC-25 or VC-25B, although it can be used to refer to any Air Force aircraft the president travels on. The idea of designating specific military aircraft to transport the president arose during World War II when military advisors in the Department of War were concerned about the risk of using commercial airlines for presidential travel. In 1944, the Douglas C-54 Skymaster was converted for use as the first purpose-built presidential aircraft. Dubbed the Sacred Cow and operated by the U.S. Army Air Force, it carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945 and was used for another two years by President Harry S. Truman. The "Air Force One" call sign was created in 1954, after a Lockheed Constellation carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the same airspace as a commercial airline flight using the same flight number. Since the introduction of SAM 26000 in 1962, the primary presidential aircraft has carried the distinctive livery designed by Raymond Loewy. Other aircraft designated as Air Force One have included another Lockheed Constellation, Columbine III; three Boeing 707s, introduced in the 1960s and 1970s; and since 1990, two Boeing VC-25A (highly customized Boeing 747-200B) aircraft. The Boeing VC-25B Bridge, a modified Boeing 747-8 received as a gift from the Qatari government, entered service on 1 July 2026. The US Air Force has ordered two Boeing 747-8s, designated Boeing VC-25Bs, to serve as the next presidential aircraft; these are expected to enter service no earlier than 2027 or...