Air Force One and other presidential aircraft will trade their classic baby blue paint scheme for the President Donald Trump’s the preferred palette of red, white, gold and dark blue, according to officials.
New VC-25B fleet gets Trump palette
First reported According to CBS News, the new paint scheme will debut on two heavily modified Boeing 747s that the Air Force is calling VC-25B, the next generation of fighter jets that will carry the call sign “Air Force One” when the president is on board. The colors reflect a design Trump first put forward in 2018 before it was shelved under president Joe Biden about costs and technical concerns.
Repainting breaks with long-standing Kennedy-era design
Some existing blue and white aircraft are already being repainted in dark navy blue, deep red and gold as they cycle through scheduled maintenance, CBS News reported. The first C-32 has completed its repaint at L3 Harris’ facility in Greenville, Texas, and is expected to return to the fleet within months.
The makeover marks a break from the blue-and-white Robin’s Egg look that dates back to the Kennedy administration, then designer Raymond Loewy created what became an instantly recognizable symbol of the American presidency.
Trump has long advocated a more openly patriotic plan. “Air Force One is going to be incredible,” he said in 2018, according to Reuters. “It’s going to be the top of the line, the top of the world. And it’s going to be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate.”
Valuable VC-25B program continues to suffer delays
The VC-25B program, based on the Boeing 747-8, has seen years of delays and cost overruns, with delivery now expected by the end of the decade. As a stopgap measure, the Air Force is also converting the Qatari 747-8 into an interim presidential aircraft, which will wear the new colors once upgrades and security modifications are completed.
Photo courtesy: 1000 Words on Shutterstock.com
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