Showing posts with label Military Aviation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Military Aviation. Show all posts

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Who's the Replacement For the Boeing VC-25?


The Boeing VC-25 before touched down to the runway

The Boeing VC-25 is a military version of the Boeing 747-200B and also the presidential aircraft of the United States of America. The United States Air Force ordered two modified Boeing 747-200B in 1985 to replace Boeing C-137 Stratoliner, a modified Boeing 707-320B aircraft. At the time, the United States Air Force had two choices for the Boeing C-137 Stratoliner, the Boeing 747 or the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, but later Boeing 747 became the winner. The first aircraft being delivered in 1986 and had 28000 as the tail number, while the second Boeing VC-25 was being delivered in 1990 and had 29000 as the tail number. If one of the Boeing VC-25 carrying the president of the United States of America, it called by Air Traffic Controller as "Air Force One."

Now, both Boeing VC-25 become old and the United States Air Force started to look for the replacement of the Boeing VC-25. The Boeing VC-25 is a modified Boeing 747-200B, the aircraft type that becomes less cost-effective to operate if compared by the current aircraft type. The United States Air Force had two choices, the super-jumbo Airbus A380-800 or the next generation of the Boeing 747, the Boeing 747-8I. On January 9, 2009, the Air Force Materiel Command issued if the replacement aircraft would be entered the service by 2017, followed by the two additional aircraft in 2019 and 2021. There was also a report if the United States Air Force was also interested with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but finally the United States Air Force announced if they would replace the Boeing VC-25, the modified Boeing 747-200B with the descendant of the Boeing 747 Classic, the Boeing 747-8I for the presidential transport. Again, Boeing won the competition.