As the iconic Boeing 747 is on its final flight path to obsolescence, there are only a few airlines still flying them. Yet oddly enough, a handful of old 747s remain some of the most important aircraft in the country. There are modified versions of the aircraft used for both Air Force One and the so-called "Doomsday Plane" that's designed to be sort of a flying Pentagon in case of nuclear war.
How old are these aircraft? The two planes serving as Air Force One have been transporting U.S. presidents around the world since the 20th century, with President George H.W. Bush taking his first flights in both in 1990. With aircraft that old, it's no wonder former Pizza Hut spokesperson Donald Trump is desperate to fly on a new Air Force One. And the Doomsday editions have been around even longer.
Needless to say, it's hard to get parts for these out-of-production planes, which makes it hard to service them in a timely manner, and although they're still considered safe, they've served well past their expected life cycles. Boeing had contracted for new Air Force One planes under the Obama administration, but delays in the program and problems with other Boeing aircraft seem to have left that project up in the air. Which means the old Air Force One and Doomsday Planes are still up in the air, playing two very different roles.
The two jets that serve as Air Force One started life as Boeing 747-200B airliners; the Air Force uses the designation VC-25A for the planes after they've been modified for presidential use. Technically, "Air Force One" is the radio call sign for a plane only when the president is on board; otherwise, they go by their tail numbers: 28000 and 29000.
Now, Air Force One does have some (classified) defense systems, including some that hide the jet engines' heat signature from missiles, as well as other countermeasures meant to misdirect the missiles' flight. Its communications capabilities have been beefed up, too. But Air Force One is really about providing a place where the president can relax and/or do business while in the air. For starters, it can hold up to 71 passengers with an executive suite for the commander in chief, complete with its own shower.
You'll also find a main conference room, smaller meeting rooms, and a medical suite (staffed by a flight surgeon and registered nurse). If folks get hungry, Air Force One has two galleys that can prepare 100 meals at a time. For the long haul, there are enough ingredients on board for 2,000 meals, and the aircraft can refuel while in flight. Escape pods? Those are only for movies so far, but maybe one will be added to Trump's so-called "free" plane from Qatar.
First off, the Air Force doesn't officially refer to the E-4B – another militarized version of the 747-200 – as "Doomsday" anything. It's the Night Watch or, when it's on duty, the National Airborne Operations Center; its mission is to essentially act as the country's military command center in case the ground-based ones are destroyed in a nuclear war, zombie apocalypse, or other calamity.
There are actually four of these planes now in service, all of which became operational in 1974. Due to the nature of their role, the exact details of the Night Watch aircraft are classified, of course, but there are a few general overviews out there. Based out of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, the E-4Bs can fit up to 111 people, and one is on duty around the clock.
Inside, the main deck is split into different stations with vague names like command center, conference room, communications room, etc. The E-4Bs also have their share of fancy defensive countermeasures. Perhaps the key difference is that the Nightwatch — unlike Air Force One — is shielded from thermal radiation and electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). That's good news considering how eager AI is to launch nukes when global trouble starts.