Since its founding in 1776, the United States has produced 46 presidents, 9 of whom have been assassinated and 4 have died. In other words, 1 in every 5 presidents in the history of the United States has been assassinated, and the probability of death after encountering an assassination is 44%, which is a very high probability. Therefore, the president of the United States is also one of the high-risk occupations in the world. Video content link
Assassination of Lincoln
In order to learn the bitter lessons of history, the United States has invested heavily in the security of the president, after all, the assassination of the president has not only lost his life, but also the face of a superpower. Earlier we talked about the tight security of the White House, but the president cannot stay in the White House all the time without leaving the house. To this end, the Special Intelligence Agency prepared highly secure transportation for the president. For long trips, the President takes Air Force 1, and for short trips, he takes Marine Corps 1 helicopter or presidential car. Even when visiting abroad, the president of the United States never uses a vehicle provided by another country, but brings his own car, not just one car, but the entire convoy.
U.S. President Convoy
1. Presidential car - a moving fortress
The current U.S. president's car is a purpose-built Cadillac, which is more like a luxury tank than a sedan, a moving fortress. Also known as the "Beast" or Cadillac 1 due to its excellent performance. The car debuted on September 24, 2018, and looks like a Cadillac CT6, but it's actually built on GM's Kodiak midsize truck platform and cost a whopping $1.5 million. In order to develop the beast, GM invested more than 15 million US dollars in research and development, and made great efforts in safety performance.
U.S. President's car
The "Beast" can accommodate up to 7 people, and the president has plenty of room in the back row. The body is made of armor made of aluminum, steel and ceramic, and the chassis is also a single piece of armor, and the thickness is more than 20 cm, which can easily cope with armor-piercing shells, grenades or bazookas. The fuel tank not only has armor, but also a special foam wrap that automatically repairs tank damage to prevent explosion. The window glass, of course, is also bulletproof, up to 13 cm thick, has a full 5 layers, even the Super Magnum AWM cannot penetrate. The car weighs 9 tons, equivalent to the weight of six regular cars, and uses Goodyear-quality run-proof tires that can still drive quickly after a gun or explosion. However, due to the excessive bulk, the maximum speed of the beast is only 90 kilometers per hour, and it takes 15 seconds to accelerate to 90 kilometers, which is not even as good as ordinary family cars.
Beast armor
Therefore, in order to deal with emergencies, the beast has many 007 Bond-style designs. The Beast's doors are specially reinforced to completely seal the vehicle in the event of a biochemical attack, and oxygen is supplied by an oxygen supply pump at the rear. A fire extinguishing device and a first-aid kit are also stored in the rear of the vehicle, which, in addition to first-aid equipment and medicines, is always stored with the same type of blood as the president in case of emergency.
Tear gas transmitters and night vision devices are installed in front of the vehicle, with which the beast can drive in the dark without relying on lights. In the door on the right side of the front, a shotgun was also housed for agents protecting the president. The vehicle's door handle can use electricity to knock down a person who tries to open the door without permission. In the event of an emergency and need to escape, the beast can also release smoke to interfere with the view of vehicles behind, and can also release a slick to make vehicles behind lose control.
Part of the security function of the beast
Of course, these alone are not enough to fill the total amount of 9 tons, which shows that there are many unknown secrets in the presidential car. Moreover, there is more than one presidential car, there are at least two beasts in the convoy each trip, and the appearance is exactly the same as the license plate, and the position is constantly changing during driving, and it is difficult for outsiders to judge which car the president is in. Moreover, the presidential car is surrounded by the entire presidential convoy, usually about 50 vehicles, sometimes even more. This convoy can provide all-round protection for the presidential car.
Generally, five minutes before the departure of the presidential motorcade, a pathfinder will be sent to survey the road conditions ahead. Patrol cars and sweepers, usually 20 to 30 motorcycles, will be dispatched to control traffic along the route and ensure smooth passage of the presidential convoy. The first part is generally dominated by the local police. Then there are the departures of the open road cars, usually in a team of motorcycles lined up in an arrow shape. Behind the open road car is the core convoy, first the guide car, responsible for leading the way for the presidential car, and forming a buffer belt between the open road car and the presidential car.
Presidential Core Team
In the core fleet, in addition to several identical Beast cars, there is also the electronic countermeasure vehicle, a Chevrolet Saaban with two antennas on the roof that can jam electronic communications near the convoy, disable remote detonation devices, and also detect incoming artillery shells or drones in short waves. There are also several Saboban in the core convoy, and next to the presidential car is the central guard car, also called the presidential bodyguard task force, in which the president's personal bodyguards, all in suits and leather shoes, the third row of seats in these cars is rear, the tailgate is open to be ready to shoot. Behind the central guard car is the anti-terrorist commando special car, and the central guard car also has an open tailgate, the difference is that the anti-terrorist commando team is fully armed, and it is the force in the president's convoy.
Electronic countermeasures vehicles
The dangerous goods disposal vehicle is a box truck equipped with some special equipment and sensors that can detect nuclear, biological, chemical and other dangerous goods, and then process them. In addition, there are command vehicles, news vehicles, ambulances, support vehicles and so on in the convoy. The main role of this huge convoy is to ensure the safety of the president.
Even if it is a visit abroad, this convoy follows the president, and the US military's C17 Globemaster transport aircraft transports the convoy to its destination in advance, so that when the president steps off Air Force No. 1, the convoy is already in place. Compared with the presidential car for short-distance travel, the long-distance special plane Air Force No. 1 is full of technology and ruthlessness.
C17 transports presidential cars
2. Air Force No. 1 - the White House of Flight
At the end of World War II, U.S. President Roosevelt often had to go abroad to attend various key meetings of the Allies, and because of the presence of German submarines in the Atlantic, boats were not only unsafe but also inefficient, and flying became a necessary choice. In January 1943, Roosevelt traveled to Monaco on a Pan Am Boeing 314 Clipper airship to attend a conference, the first Air Force One in U.S. history. However, the U.S. Army Air Corps believed that it was unsafe for the president to travel relying on commercial airlines, so it began to modify the presidential plane, and the Secret Service reconfigured the Douglas C-54 Skymaster to carry the president, and the plane also had a sofa bed and a special elevator for Roosevelt's wheelchair to get on and off, which greatly improved comfort, which was also the first U.S. presidential plane. After several iterations, the current Air Force No. 1 is a modified version of the Boeing 747-200B that entered service in 1990, and the modified design is a veritable "White House in the air" according to the principle that the president can do in the White House and what he can do on a special plane.
Air Force No. 1
The air white house cost $3.5 billion and built two in one go. In this way, every time the president travels, the other one is used as a backup aircraft. Air Force 1 has a range of more than 10,000 kilometers, can also be refueled in the air, can fly anywhere in the world, and theoretically can never land. As the US president's special aircraft, Sky 1 has achieved the ultimate in comfort and safety.
Air Force 1 is 70.6 meters long, has a wingspan of 59.6 meters, and has three decks inside. In the middle is the main deck, and in front is the president's private space, there is a bedroom with a sofa, which also has a washroom and a small gym. Next to the bedroom is the president's office, where the president can conduct official business as if he were in the White House. Next to the office is a medical room with various rescue equipment and medicines, as well as the same type of blood as the president, and even an operating table in this medical room where emergency surgery can be performed. Next to the medical room is the kitchen, which can accommodate 3 staff, generally equipped with 1 chef, 1 sous chef and 1 bartender, and can serve meals for 200 people at the same time. The ingredients on Air Force 1 are generally purchased at the local ordinary supermarket the day before or on the day of departure, and for safety, the same supermarket is never visited twice. Behind the kitchen is a conference room that resembles a war room, where the president can direct the actions of U.S. forces and even launch nuclear strikes.
Air Force Situation Room No. 1
Behind the conference room is the area for the president's entourage and security personnel, which separates the back area, which is like a normal airliner and is mainly used by guests and media personnel accompanying the president. In addition to the cockpit and pilot's lounge, the upper deck of Air Force 1 also has a communications center, which is mainly used to connect ground and satellite communications, providing connections for 87 encrypted phones and 19 TVs on Air Force 1, while there is also ultra-fast WIFI on Air Force 1. The lower deck is relatively simple, mainly equipment compartment and baggage compartment.
Outside these visible functional areas are the hidden security features of Air Force 1. All of Air Force 1's window glass is bulletproof, and the structure has been specially reinforced to withstand the nuclear radiation and shock waves generated by the explosion of a nuclear bomb. In addition, Air Force 1 is equipped with an advanced missile defense system, equipped with jamming radars in the wings or tail, which can prevent enemy missiles from being accurately guided. If an enemy fires an infrared-tracked missile, Air Force 1 can also fire a decoy shell to yaw the missile. Legend has it that Air Force 1 is also equipped with laser weapons and many secret weapons unknown to the outside world.
Air Force No. 1 air defense system
Like the presidential convoy, Air Force 1 does not fly alone, in addition to the backup aircraft, Air Force 1 has early warning aircraft and fighter escorts, and these escort aircraft will give priority to ensuring the safety of the presidential plane in the face of danger.
The operating and maintenance costs of such a presidential jet are also quite staggering. Air Force 1 has a crew of 26 and costs more than $200,000 per hour to fly. And in order to ensure the safety of the president, the parts on Air Force No. 1 will be replaced once they are worn, basically just replaced. And Air Force No. 1 has been in operation for more than 30 years, which can be regarded as a classic aircraft, and maintenance is quite frequent. In addition, many communication equipment on the aircraft still uses the technology of the 90s of the last century, which is already very old. And the same batch of commercial models have been retired, Boeing also discontinued production of the aircraft in 2016, and the replacement parts have to be produced separately.
As a result, the U.S. Air Force plans to purchase a new generation of Air Force 1. The new generation of Air Force 1 is based on the Boeing 747-8, which will further upgrade the interior decoration and design on the basis of the original, with a stronger sense of technology, and the overall cost exceeds 5 billion US dollars. On this aircraft, the national live broadcast function of the presidential speech that could not be realized by the original Air Force No. 1 can also be realized.
Renderings of the new generation Air Force No. 1 war room
In addition to Air Force No. 1, the U.S. president flies on Marine Corps No. 1, which is usually used by helicopter from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base.
The travel of the US president can be regarded as the safest travel in the world, and it also shows the strength of his world power. However, no amount of security measures is as good as a safe external environment, and the more enemies there are, the more dangers there are.
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