Washington, D.C. , 19 February (H.S.): President Donald Trump’s longstanding vision for a striking redesign of the presidential aircraft fleet is materializing, with the U.S. Air Force confirming on Wednesday, that forthcoming Air Force One jets—including two Boeing 747-8i VC-25B models and a Qatari-donated luxury aircraft—will don a vibrant palette of red, white, gold, and dark blue, supplanting the iconic sky-blue-and-white livery emblematic since Jacqueline Kennedy’s curation during John F. Kennedy’s tenure.
This sweeping aesthetic overhaul, championed vociferously by Trump since 2018 when he proclaimed the planes would embody “red, white, and blue” grandeur befitting “the top in the world,” extends to four C-32 “Air Force Two” Boeing 757s servicing the vice president, first lady, and cabinet secretaries; contractor L3Harris has already completed repainting one such jet at its Greenville, Texas facility, slated for imminent delivery.
The transformation revives a first-term directive rescinded under President Biden amid concerns over dark pigments exacerbating thermal loads and FAA recertification rigors, now recalibrated to accord with Trump’s signature motif mirroring his personal Boeing 757, Trump Force One, replete with undulating red-gold accents, a navy underbelly, and a billowing Stars and Stripes tail.
Air Force officials underscored the scheme’s alignment with executive airlift modernization within the protracted $5.3 billion VC-25B program, navigating prior delays and overruns, while the White House and Defense Department deferred commentary; this visual reassertion of presidential imprimatur arrives as the fleet undergoes comprehensive avionics, communications, and defensive upgrades to sustain its role as a airborne command nexus.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
