I believe that everyone is familiar with Air Force One, as the PRESIDENT's travel vehicle, its scientific and technological content is naturally very high, and it is evaluated by the outside world as the safest aircraft in the world. So what is the secret of this plane that will allow him to win this award? Today, I will talk to you about why Air Force One claims to never be shot down, and what kind of oolong incident has happened to it?
For Americans, Air Force One refers specifically to the airliner in which the president rides. In 1943, before world war II was over, German submarines were in the Atlantic, which led to the insecurity of the Allied leaders at the time to travel by boat. At that time, the president of the United States was Roosevelt, who was very inactive, and in order to participate in some of the key meetings of the Allies and inspect the battlefield, flying became his only option.
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was in a Douglas Dolphin amphibious airship. This small aircraft mainly performs a number of reconnaissance and search and rescue missions. At only 13 meters it was destined to carry only a pitiful 6 passengers. Although rudimentary, it was also the first Air Force No. 1 in U.S. history.
However, Roosevelt was the president of the United States, and the means of transportation naturally could not be so cold, so the relevant departments of the United States later specially prepared a special plane for the president, which was a Douglas C-54 military transport aircraft. Nicknamed the Air Overlord, it is much more luxurious than the previous dolphin airship. The C-54 is 28.6 meters long, has a wingspan of 35.8 meters, and has a maximum speed of 441 km/h, while also carrying 48 people. The enlargement of the interior space also allowed Roosevelt to have a personal resting area, and technicians installed a lift for the president to transport his wheelchair.
Since this era, successive PRESIDENTs of the United States have their own exclusive aircraft, that is to say, the air force number one has always existed, and the aircraft may change at any time. With the continuous development of the times, the facilities in Air Force One have become more and more advanced, and there are often many black technologies that are ahead of the times. However, around the 1950s, then-US President Dwight Eisenhower had a small accident while riding the Air One: the plane he was flying on at the time actually coincided with the radio call sign of other aircraft, and more coincidentally, the two planes appeared in the same area together, although there was no accident, but such problems still woke up the Americans.
After this incident, in order to better distinguish the presidential plane from other aircraft, the Americans only made the president's landplane aircraft Air Force One, and this name has been used to this day. By the jet age, Reagan began using the Boeing 747 as his Air Force One.
But the Boeing 747 wasn't as big as we see it now, and at that time its fuselage was still very narrow, and passengers had to pass by as they walked in the plane. However, with the replacement of the Boeing 747, the interior of Air Force One in the Obama era became quite spacious. The aircraft alone can reach about 400 tons in the air, while the length reaches 70 meters and the height is 20 meters. It was the Boeing 747 that had such conditions, making it possible for Americans to install more high-tech equipment inside the aircraft. In terms of facilities alone, it can be said to be equivalent to the White House in the air, and anything that can be done in the White House can also be done in Air Force One.
Although the current Air Force No. 1 is improved by civilian airliners, its protection standards are very high, the fuselage is covered with heavy armor, and all kinds of glass are also bulletproof. In addition to the external defense, its internal facilities are also available. For example, the executive suite used by the president's office, the dressing room, the restaurant, and so on. At the same time, this aircraft also has the functions of air warning, infrared interference, launching lure missiles, and catapulting and landing, which can be said to be an air fortress in addition to no offensive capability.
When faced with a missile attack, the infrared countermeasure system carried by Air Force One will be activated, and the jamming radar will also divert the missile from the aircraft, thus ensuring the safety of the president; if the jamming device does not work, Air Force One will fire hot flame bombs and platinum bars, which are two weapons that lure infrared missiles and radar-guided missiles, respectively; if it does not work, the president of the United States can only change planes, or rely on the catapult cockpit to get out of the aircraft. But if you really want to get to that point, it's not the security issue that the U.S. president needs to pay attention to.
In fact, Air Force One is not only one, but there is also a backup aircraft. The two planes are like twins, and if one fails, the other is immediately put into service, and this is the last insurance that Air Force One gave to the President of the United States. Meanwhile, once Air Force One takes to the skies, the U.S. Air Force sends a hybrid formation of aircraft to protect it. Among them, there may be heavy fighters such as the F22, and there may also be air-superiority third-generation aircraft such as the F16.
But even if Air Force One is so important to the Americans, it always shows a serious face, but there are still some oolong incidents in it.
On April 27, 2009, new Jersey residents were living their normal day, but at this moment, two planes were found flying aimlessly over the city, flying at a very low altitude, threatening to crash at any time, and the two planes circled for a long time without leaving, and the pilot's control was like drinking too much. The American people who have experienced 9/11 are like birds of fright, and the plane above their heads has become their nightmare. Seeing this, all the Americans in the building ran to the street to prepare for refuge. Fortunately, the planes circled again for a while and then flew away, leaving a bunch of Americans with wide eyes and small eyes.
Since then, the US media reported that the incident was even more bizarre, claiming that the plane disturbance incident was actually a commemorative photo of Air Force One by the White House, but did not notify the public in advance. At the same time, they are ready to go to Washington to play this again. It seems that Air Force One is the safest aircraft to say to the people on the ground.
In October 2020, the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 200,000, and the epidemic was so raging that even Trump, who knew the virus best, was caught. On October 2, he also tweeted that he and his wife had tested positive for the virus and were preparing to quarantine, and many White House officials were subsequently found to have tested positive for the virus.
This is a perfectly normal thing, after all, the United States has not done enough to fight the epidemic, but it was not long ago that some people found that Trump's Air Force One did not take effective protective measures, and most officials did not wear masks at all, which means that Air Force One became a veritable poison plane. Since this time, the original hot media cabin position on Air Force One has also been deserted, you know, it is difficult to find a ticket here when there is no epidemic. At this time, the reporters were also worried about their own health, and even the safest plane in the world did not dare to get on. As the old saying goes, the strongest fortresses are often breached from within.
Strictly speaking, in fact, Air Force One can be regarded as a concentrated embodiment of US military science and technology, and it is also one of the platforms for the United States to show its comprehensive national strength to the outside world. How the outside world evaluates the combat strength of the US military will be reflected in air force one to a large extent.
But then again, although Air Force One is so advanced and the security is so perfect, it is not an alien spacecraft in essence, but an ordinary aircraft. No matter how good the defense system is, it is still stretched in the face of advanced modern weapons attacks, and the hundreds of millions of dollars of Air Force One is only worth one missile. However, due to its special status, there is no need to shoot it down.
It is also for this reason that Air Force One is considered to be the safest aircraft in the world, in a word, there is no aircraft that cannot be shot down, only aircraft that are not afraid of being shot down.