Air Force One and other aircraft in the VIP fleet are being repainted to reflect President Donald Trump’s preferred color palette, according to reports.
The planes currently serving as Air Force One have been painted robin’s egg blue and white since the Kennedy administration; however, Trump is now looking at a red, white, dark blue and gold color scheme.
Trump’s updated colors will appear on aircraft including a donated Qatari jet and two planes that Boeing is converting to serve as Air Force One, sources told CBS News.
Some aircraft have already been repainted in the new colors during scheduled repairs and routine maintenance, the outlet reported.
A Department of the Air Force spokesperson said the Air Force is implementing a new paint requirement — red, white, gold and dark blue — for the VC-25B program and other aircraft in the executive airlift fleet. The spokesperson added that the C-32s will be painted during regularly scheduled maintenance, and the first C-32 has already been repainted and is expected to be delivered to the Air Force in the next few months.
The change was first floated during Trump’s first term, but was later reversed under President Joe Biden, CNN reported. A spokesperson said in 2022 that additional analysis found darker colors on the underside of the VC-25B could contribute to temperatures exceeding qualification limits for a small number of components.
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The updated design is now an official requirement across the presidential and executive fleet, according to Fox News, which cited an Air Force spokesperson.
The donated Qatari 747-8i is expected to be ready for use as Air Force One no later than this summer following refurbishments, CBS News reported. The gift has drawn questions about preferential treatment, though an agreement signed at the time of the transfer stated it should not be interpreted as an offer, promise, or acceptance of bribery, undue influence, or corrupt practice.
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The smaller C-32 aircraft serves as Air Force Two when the vice president is aboard, and is also used to transport other senior U.S. leaders. According to the Air Force, the C-32 provides transportation for officials traveling worldwide, including the vice president, the first lady, and members of the Cabinet and Congress.
Trump has spoken about updating Air Force One for years, and a model of a redesigned aircraft has recently been spotted in the Oval Office. In an interview last summer, he said the plane would be painted red, white and blue “like the American flag.”
