Not a Plane, a Call Sign
"Air Force One" is not the name of a specific airplane. It is the radio call sign given to any U.S. Air Force aircraft while the president is aboard.
Over more than 80 years, that call sign has been carried by flying boats, propeller transports, early jets, and today's militarized Boeing 747s. What has stayed constant is the aircraft's dual role: a secure way to move the commander in chief anywhere on Earth, and a visible symbol of American power the moment it touches down on foreign soil.
This page traces every aircraft that has carried that call sign, what each one could do, what it cost taxpayers, and where the program stands today with the current VC-25B Bridge aircraft and Boeing's long-delayed permanent replacement.
Every Presidential Aircraft, Start to Finish
Before any aircraft was purpose-built for the presidency, Roosevelt became the first sitting president to fly while in office, traveling aboard a chartered Pan Am flying boat to the Casablanca Conference in Morocco to meet Winston Churchill.
Until this trip, presidents traveled by train or ship, and a wartime flight across the Atlantic was considered too great a risk to attempt.
The January 1943 journey ran via Trinidad, Brazil, and Gambia, roughly 17,000 miles round trip over about five days each way. Roosevelt marked his 61st birthday aloft on the return leg, served a modest meal by the Pan Am crew.
Using a civilian clipper with a civilian crew was itself a security measure, meant to attract less attention than a military transport, and the White House disclosed the trip only after the president was safely back.
The Sacred Cow was the first aircraft built specifically for presidential use, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster with a private stateroom, a battery-powered elevator to accommodate Roosevelt's wheelchair, and early secure communications gear. Roosevelt flew it once, to the Yalta Conference in early 1945.
Truman used it far more extensively, and signed the National Security Act of 1947, which created the U.S. Air Force as an independent military branch, while aboard the aircraft. It is preserved today at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The battery-powered lift at the rear of the cabin raised Roosevelt's wheelchair through a hatch in the floor, sparing him from being carried up boarding stairs in public view. The plane also had a conference room with a large desk and bulletproof windows.
Truman signed the National Security Act on July 26, 1947, at that desk while waiting to fly home to Missouri; his mother died the same day. The aircraft got its irreverent nickname from the press pool, and it stuck.
Named for Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri, this modified Douglas DC-6 replaced the Sacred Cow with a pressurized cabin that allowed high-altitude flight without oxygen masks, an early weather radar, and a radio teletype system.
It was also the first presidential aircraft to carry distinctive exterior markings, a bald eagle painted on the nose, giving the plane a visual identity separate from any ordinary military transport.
The DC-6 could cruise above most weather near 300 miles per hour, cutting coast-to-coast time compared with the propeller-driven Sacred Cow. It seated about 24 and had a stateroom with a fold-down bed.
The eagle nose art, wings spread and head turned toward the flag on the tail, established the idea of the presidential plane as a national symbol as much as a means of travel. The Independence is preserved at the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio.
Eisenhower flew a pair of Lockheed Constellations, named for Colorado's state flower in honor of his wife Mamie's adopted home state. It was aboard Columbine II, radio call sign Air Force 8610, that air traffic controllers briefly confused the president's aircraft with a same-numbered Eastern Air Lines flight in the same airspace.
To prevent a repeat, the Air Force adopted the unique call sign "Air Force One" for any Air Force aircraft carrying the president, a practice that has continued ever since. Columbine III served as the primary presidential aircraft for the rest of Eisenhower's term and retired the day John F. Kennedy took office.
The 1953 mix-up occurred near New York, when "Air Force 8610" and "Eastern 8610" were aloft at the same time. Reserving "Air Force One" for whatever aircraft the president is aboard became standard practice at once, though it was formalized in regulation only later.
Columbine II is the only presidential aircraft ever to pass into private hands. Sold as surplus, it sat for years in an Arizona boneyard, was bought in a 1970 lot of Constellations without the buyer realizing what it was, and after a 2015 restoration it is now privately operated and appears at air shows.
As the jet age arrived, the Air Force acquired a small fleet of Boeing 707s to begin phasing out propeller-driven transports.
One of these aircraft, nicknamed Queenie, made Eisenhower the first president to fly by jet, a transition that cut travel times dramatically and set the stage for the fully jet-powered fleet that would follow.
Designated VC-137A and assigned to the Air Force's Special Air Missions unit, Queenie carried Eisenhower on a December 1959 "Flight to Peace" goodwill tour of eleven nations across roughly 22,000 miles in nineteen days.
That trip showed that a president could now reach Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia in a single journey, and it strengthened the case for ordering a jet built specifically for the presidency, which followed three years later.
Delivered in 1962, SAM 26000 was the first jet built specifically for the presidency and introduced the blue, white, and silver livery still used today, designed at Jacqueline Kennedy's request by industrial designer Raymond Loewy. The aircraft carried President Kennedy to Dallas on November 22, 1963, returned his body to Washington that same day, and carried Lyndon B. Johnson's swearing-in en route.
It went on to serve every president through Bill Clinton before retiring in 1998 after 36 years and roughly 13,000 flight hours. It is preserved at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Loewy replaced an Air Force plan for a red-and-gold scheme with two tones of blue, a polished aluminum belly, and "United States of America" set in Caslon type along the fuselage, drawing the presidential seal and flag motifs from historical sources at Kennedy's request.
Renamed "Spirit of '76" for the occasion, SAM 26000 flew Nixon to China and the Soviet Union in 1972. Over its career it also carried the bodies of returning war dead and visiting heads of state before its final flight in 1998.
SAM 27000 joined the fleet in 1972 as a second, newer VC-137C and became the primary presidential aircraft while SAM 26000 continued as a backup. It carried Nixon on later trips (his February 1972 China visit had been flown on SAM 26000) and, after his resignation in 1974, flew him home to California.
It went on to serve Ford, Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, including Reagan's Cold War summit diplomacy in Geneva, Reykjavik, and Moscow, before retiring in 2001. It is now displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
SAM 27000 was the aircraft millions watched on August 9, 1974, carrying Nixon from Washington toward California after his resignation. Partway across the country, at the moment Gerald Ford was sworn in, its call sign changed in the air from "Air Force One" back to "SAM 27000."
Its final mission in 2001 flew it to Southern California, where it was moved to the Reagan Library and enclosed in a purpose-built pavilion so visitors can walk through the cabin.
Ordered under President Reagan and delivered in 1990, the two VC-25A aircraft are heavily modified Boeing 747-200B airframes and have served as the primary Air Force One fleet for more than three decades.
They introduced aerial refueling capability, extensive electromagnetic pulse shielding, and a self-defense suite, and remain the aircraft most people picture when they hear the name Air Force One.
Each aircraft is about 232 feet long with roughly 4,000 square feet of interior space across three decks, room for up to 76 passengers and 26 crew, a medical bay set up for emergency surgery, and two galleys that can feed 100 people.
Tail numbers 28000 and 29000 are flown and maintained by the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Their 1990 delivery ran about a year late and over budget, a modest preview of the far larger delays on their eventual replacement.
With Boeing's permanent replacement aircraft years behind schedule, the Air Force pressed a former Qatari government Boeing 747-8i into interim service.
The aircraft was gifted to the U.S. government in May 2025, underwent roughly a year of modification led by defense contractor L3Harris, and was publicly unveiled at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026, repainted in the traditional Air Force One livery. It is intended to bridge the gap until Boeing's purpose-built VC-25B aircraft are ready.
The Air Force has said the interim jet received a reduced set of modifications compared with a full VC-25, concentrating on secure communications and self-protection rather than a complete rebuild, in order to get it flying sooner.
Members of Congress from both parties questioned the security of adapting a foreign-built aircraft, the true cost of the work, which the Air Force put near 400 million dollars and some lawmakers called too low, and the stated plan to transfer the jet to a presidential library foundation after the administration leaves office. A fuller, neutral account appears in the section below.
The Air Force's long-term Air Force One replacement remains two new-build 747-8 airframes, originally intended for a Russian airline that never took delivery, which Boeing has been converting to military presidential standard since 2018.
Repeated delays have pushed the expected delivery of the first aircraft to roughly mid-2028, four years past the original 2024 target.
Boeing won the work in 2018 as a fixed-price contract worth about 3.9 billion dollars. By the mid-2020s the total program cost was estimated near 6.2 billion, and Boeing had absorbed more than 2 billion dollars in losses on the deal.
The delays have been traced to wiring problems, a key supplier's bankruptcy, shortages of security-cleared workers, and interior redesigns. Like the current fleet's home, the conversion work is being done at Boeing's San Antonio facility, and the new jets, as a cost decision, will not have aerial refueling.
What Air Force One Carries
The aircraft's full defense and communications specifications are classified. These are the capabilities that are publicly documented or openly acknowledged by the Air Force.
Secure and redundant communications
The VC-25A carries dozens of telephones, some encrypted for classified conversations and some open, plus high-frequency and satellite radio links that let the president reach military commanders, cabinet officials, and foreign leaders from anywhere in flight.
The suite is built so the president can run the government from the air, including chairing a full National Security Council meeting or directing a military response, without landing.
The aircraft is also described as a node in the nuclear command-and-control network, able to relay orders if ground and other airborne command posts are unavailable. Rows of antennas along the fuselage and tail carry these links.
Self-defense countermeasures
The aircraft carries a classified self-protection suite believed to include radar-warning receivers, missile-approach warning sensors, infrared countermeasures to defeat heat-seeking missiles, and dispensers for chaff and flares.
Exact specifications are not disclosed, but the systems appear as distinctive antenna and sensor housings on the airframe, and the crew trains for evasive maneuvers.
Fighter escort is used only in specific situations. The aircraft's main protection is a combination of secrecy about its routes, the onboard countermeasures, and airspace that is restricted and swept ahead of it.
Hardened electronics
The plane's wiring and electronics are shielded against electromagnetic pulse, so the aircraft is intended to keep flying and communicating through a nuclear detonation or a high-altitude EMP event.
Its environmental system can seal the cabin and filter incoming air against chemical, biological, and radiological contamination, allowing flight through or near a contaminated area.
Together with the communications suite, this is why the VC-25A is treated as a survivable command platform in a national emergency, not simply a transport.
Aerial refueling
The current VC-25A fleet can take on fuel in flight from a tanker aircraft, which in principle lets it stay airborne for days during a crisis in which landing is not safe.
The capability reflects Cold War planning that the president might need to remain aloft and in command during a nuclear attack.
As a cost-saving decision, the replacement VC-25B is not being built with aerial refueling, a choice some defense analysts have criticized as a reduction in the aircraft's emergency endurance.
Onboard medical suite
The aircraft has a dedicated medical compartment equipped for emergency care and minor surgery, with a fold-out table, supplies, and blood matched to the president's type.
A military physician, and often additional medical staff, travels on every flight, coordinating with the White House Medical Unit and with military hospitals along the planned route.
A flying White House
The interior is laid out as a working government office rather than a passenger cabin, with a presidential suite that includes a bedroom, bathroom, and small gym, plus a compact private office.
Farther back are a conference and dining room that can serve as a situation room, separate work areas for senior staff and for the Secret Service, and a section of about a dozen seats for the traveling press pool.
Two galleys can prepare roughly 100 meals at a time. As a security measure, the food is bought at ordinary retail stores along the route by staff who vary where they shop.
A Symbol Before It Lands
Beyond its role as transportation, Air Force One functions as a visible projection of American power abroad. Where a naval carrier group can only show the flag from a seaport, Air Force One can put the presidency, and everything it represents, on the tarmac of nearly any country on Earth within a day. The aircraft's arrival, departure, and distinctive livery have become part of the visual language of American diplomacy itself.
What It Has Cost Taxpayers
Figures below reflect publicly reported estimates. Full itemized program costs, especially for classified defensive systems, are not disclosed.
| Aircraft | Timeline | Reported Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| VC-25A (28000 and 29000) | Ordered 1987, delivered 1990 | Estimated at roughly $325 million per aircraft at the time of acquisition | Figure reflects publicly cited estimates from the original late-1980s procurement and is not an official, itemized Air Force disclosure. |
| VC-25B program (two new-build aircraft) | Contracted 2018, expected delivery mid-2028 | Originally a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract; total program cost has since been estimated at roughly $6.2 billion | Boeing has separately absorbed more than $2 billion in losses on the fixed-price contract due to delays and cost overruns. |
| VC-25B Bridge (converted ex-Qatari 747-8i) | Gifted May 2025, unveiled June 2026 | Air Force officials estimated modification costs at roughly $400 million, though some members of Congress have disputed that figure as too low | The aircraft itself was a gift from the government of Qatar; the $400 million figure covers U.S. modification work only, led by contractor L3Harris. |
| Two additional ex-Lufthansa 747-8s | Purchase announced late 2025 | Acquired for future fleet training and sustainment needs as the 747-8i platform is no longer in production | Purchased to support long-term training and maintenance for the 747-8 based fleet once the VC-25B enters service. |
The Qatari 747: A Contested Bridge Aircraft
Presented neutrally, with the facts and the criticism raised from both sides of the aisle.
In May 2025, the government of Qatar gifted a Boeing 747-8i, previously outfitted for the Qatari royal family, to the United States government. The Trump administration accepted the aircraft as an interim solution to bridge the gap created by years of delay in Boeing's VC-25B program, and it entered service as Air Force One after modification and a formal unveiling at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026.
The gift drew sustained criticism from both national security experts and members of Congress from both parties. Concerns raised publicly included the cost and difficulty of retrofitting a foreign-sourced aircraft with the classified self-defense and secure communications systems standard on the VC-25A fleet, questions about whether accepting a large gift from a foreign government raises constitutional emoluments concerns, and the administration's stated plan to transfer the aircraft to a presidential library foundation after the end of the current term rather than retain it as permanent government property.
By its mid-2026 entry into service, the aircraft had undergone about a year of modification led by the contractor L3Harris and been repainted in the standard Air Force One livery. The Air Force has described it as a temporary bridge to be used only until the purpose-built VC-25B arrives, and congressional committees have said they will continue to review the cost and security of the arrangement.
The Trump administration has defended the acceptance of the aircraft as a cost-saving measure at no purchase price to taxpayers, arguing it was a practical response to Boeing's years of delay on the permanent replacement program. Both perspectives, along with the underlying facts about cost, timeline, and the modification process, are presented here for context rather than endorsement of either position.
Did You Know?
A quick-reference set of facts drawn from the sourced material throughout this page.
- "Air Force One" is not the name of a specific aircraft. It is the radio call sign used by any U.S. Air Force aircraft while the president is aboard.
- The blue, white, and silver livery still used today was designed in 1962 by Raymond Loewy at Jacqueline Kennedy's request, and has remained essentially unchanged for more than 60 years.
- Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president aboard SAM 26000 on the tarmac at Dallas Love Field on November 22, 1963, hours after President Kennedy's assassination.
- The incoming VC-25B fleet will not retain the current fleet's aerial refueling capability, a deliberate cost-saving decision in the new aircraft's design.
- Several retired presidential aircraft are open to the public, including Sacred Cow, Independence, Columbine III, and SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, and SAM 27000 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Sources & Further Reading
- Air Force One and Presidential Air Travel, National Archives, Pieces of History
- Air Force One: A Timeline of Presidential Planes, HISTORY
- The Airborne Ambassador, White House Historical Association
- The Flying White House, Smithsonian Magazine
- VC-25 Air Force One, Air & Space Forces Magazine
- New Air Force One Delivery Shifts to 2028, Air & Space Forces Magazine
- Former Qatari aircraft on track for summer Air Force One delivery, Defense News
- Qatar-gifted Air Force One plane delivery expected this summer, Defense News
- Air Force One, gifted to Trump from Qatar, arrives at Joint Base Andrews, NPR
- VC-25B Air Force One, GlobalSecurity.org