Editing Boeing VC-25 (section)

===VC-25A===
The VC-25A replaced the [[VC-137C]] (a military version of the [[Boeing 707]]) as the mainstay of the ''Air Force One'' fleet starting in 1987.<ref name="Jenkins_2000_p55-6"/> On some occasions, the VC-25s serve as transport for the US vice president, for which service they use the ''[[Air Force Two]]'' call sign. The VC-25A aircraft are maintained and operated as military operations by the Presidential Airlift Group, part of [[Air Mobility Command]]'s 89th Airlift Wing, based at [[Andrews Field|Joint Base Andrews]] in [[Camp Springs, Maryland]].

The aircraft can also be operated as a military command center in the event of an incident such as a nuclear attack. Operational modifications include [[aerial refueling]] capability<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/about-the-white-house/the-grounds/air-force-one/ |title=Air Force One: The President's office in the sky |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812101901/https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-grounds/air-force-one/ |archive-date=12 August 2022 |website=The White House |url-status=live |access-date=12 August 2022}}</ref> and countermeasures against [[Surface-to-air missile|anti-aircraft missiles]]. The electronics on board are connected with approximately 238 miles (383&nbsp;km) of wiring, twice that of a regular 747. All wiring is covered with heavy shielding for protection from a [[nuclear electromagnetic pulse]] in the event of a nuclear attack. The aircraft also has [[electronic countermeasures]] (ECMs) (AN/ALQ-204 Matador) to [[radar jamming|jam]] enemy radar, [[Flare (countermeasure)|flares]] to spoof heat-seeking missiles, and [[chaff (radar countermeasure)|chaff]] to spoof radar-guided missiles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cenciotti |first=David |date=2018-10-23 |title=These Are The Systems that Protect Air Force One From Heat-Seeking Missiles |url=https://theaviationist.com/2018/10/23/these-are-the-systems-that-protect-air-force-one-from-heat-seeking-missiles/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=The Aviationist |language=en-US}}</ref> All small arms and ammunition stores not in the physical possession of the Secret Service and Air Force security personnel on board the VC-25s are stowed and secured in separate locked compartments, each with a different locking mechanism for added security. Many of the VC-25's other capabilities are classified for security reasons.

There has been at least one instance of a VC-25A carrying the president of the United States without using the Air Force One call sign, when President George W. Bush went on a secret flight (with the "Gulf Stream Five" call sign) to meet with [[Iraq War|troops in Iraq]] on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]], on 27 November 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-11-28 |title=Bush trip to Baghdad kept top-secret |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3606347 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

After a presidential inauguration resulting in a change in office, the outgoing president is provided transport on a VC-25 aircraft to their home destination.  The aircraft for this flight does not use the Air Force One call sign because it is not carrying the president in office.  For both Presidents [[Bill Clinton]] and George W. Bush, the flight was known as ''Special Air Mission 28000'', where the number represents the aircraft's tail number.<ref>Felsenthal, Carol. [http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/2577/ "When Bill Clinton Left the White House"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222174122/http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/2577/ |date=22 December 2015}}. ''Chicago Daily Observer'', 22 January 2009. Retrieved: 26 June 2009.</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/world/americas/20iht-bush.4.19537115.html "Bush flies to Texas to begin post-presidential life."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821214249/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/world/americas/20iht-bush.4.19537115.html |date=21 August 2017}} ''The New York Times'', 20 January 2009. Retrieved: 9 September 2011.</ref>

[[File:US Navy 061230-F-0194C-006 The casket of Gerald R. Ford, 38th president of the United States, arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Dec. 30, 2006.jpg|thumb|The casket of President Gerald Ford being lowered from the cabin of ''SAM 29000'' at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, 2006.]]

The VC-25As have also been used to transport deceased former presidents, as the guest area aft of "the White House" has chairs and tables that can be removed and the casket laid in their place.<ref name="af1"/> The bodies of Ronald Reagan, [[Gerald Ford]], George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter were transported to Washington for their state funerals, and then on to their final resting places.<ref>[https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-one-carter-state-funeral/ 'Air Force One' Plane to Transport Carter for State Funeral]</ref> Colonel Mark Tillman, pilot for President George W. Bush, said, "We'll take care of the president from basically when he's in office to when he lays in state."<ref name="af1"/> For the funeral of President Ronald Reagan in 2004, Tillman said that the crew converted the front of the aircraft to look the way it would have appeared when Reagan was president; President and [[Nancy Reagan]]'s Air Force One jackets were placed on the chairs to "make them feel at home".<ref name="af1"/> A specially designed hydraulic lifter (similar to the type used by airline catering) with the presidential seal affixed to the sides lifts the casket up to the portside aft door to enter the VC-25A. The tradition of placing the caskets in the passenger cabin dates back to the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]], when the crew did not want the president's body placed in the cargo hold,<ref name="LBJCapitol"/> and again during the state funeral of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref name="LBJCapitol">{{cite news |last=Foley |first=Thomas |title=Thousands in Washington Brave Cold to Say Goodbye to Johnson |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=25 January 1973 |page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Haynes |author-link=Haynes Johnson |last2=Witcover |first2=Jules |author-link2=Jules Witcover |date=26 January 1973 |title=LBJ Buried in Beloved Texas Hills |page=A01 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Provence|first=Harry|title=Thousands Fill Capitol to Bid Lyndon Farewell|newspaper=The Waco Tribune-Herald|date=January 25, 1973}}</ref>

According to an April 2024 report, the two VC-25As are slated for retirement in [[fiscal year]] 2028 and 2029, respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2025/FY2025-28_Force_Structure_Changes_Exhibit.pdf |title=Department of Defense Report on Force Structure Changes for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Defense Budget |date=April 2024 |publisher=[[Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)|Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer]] |pages=45–46}}</ref> The VC-25As will be placed in museums after retirement, with the [[George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum]] requesting one of the aircraft for permanent display in 2019.<ref name="airforcetimes20190408">{{cite news |title=Bush Foundation wants retiring Air Force One for museum |url=https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/04/08/bush-foundation-wants-retiring-air-force-one-for-museum/ |work=Air Force Times |date=April 8, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>