March 27, 2009. Copyright 2009, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Logistics of Obama's European tour


LONDON, March 27, Graphic News: The public face of a globe trotting U.S. president always features Air Force One and the motorcade, but behind the scenes hundreds of people and a massive fleet of aircraft and vehicles are devoted to ensuring the president's safety.

President Obama's eight-day visit to Europe will involve over 40 aircraft and around 700 personnel, including 250 Secret Service agents, 200 White House staff, 150 more foreign affairs and Department of State staff, plus a dozen sniffer dogs. This comes at an estimated cost to the U.S. taxpayer of around $60 million.

The most expensive part of the tour is the cost of the president's air transport fleet -- two military Boeing 747-200B's with Special Air Mission tail numbers SAM-28000 and 29000. When the president is aboard either aircraft the radio call sign changes to "Air Force One", the flying Oval Office and command centre.

As well as the backup 747 three huge C-141 Starlifter aircraft are packed with helicopters, including "Marine One", and twin bomb-proof limousines, "Cadillac One" and "Cadillac Two". While Cadillac One carries the President and First Lady, its double carries the "nuclear football", the codes to authorize the use of nuclear weapons.

Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to take to the air while in office. During World War II he crossed the Atlantic in a Pan Am Boeing Clipper flying boat to confer with British prime minister Winston Churchill and Free French leader General Charles de Gaulle at Casablanca in 1943.

Air Force One became the presidential call sign in 1953 after a commercial flight, Eastern Airlines 8610, entered the same air space as Air Force 8610 which was carrying President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1962, Boeing introduced U.S. presidents to modern jet transportation when a Boeing 707-320B with the tail number 26000 entered service. SAM-26000 was the aircraft that carried President John F. Kennedy to Dallas, on November 22, 1963, and returned the body to Washington D.C., following his assassination. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office as the 36th president on board the aircraft at Love Field in Dallas.

In 1972 President Richard M. Nixon made historic visits aboard 26000 to the People's Republic of China and to the former Soviet Union. 

During Ronald Reagan's presidency two identical Boeing 747s were ordered to replace the ageing 707s. SAM-28000 was delivered in 1990, during the administration of George H. W. Bush.

Among the remarkable features of each aircraft are the electronics: 85 telephones of which 25 are secure, two-way radios, fax machines, computer connections and 19 televisions. About 380km (238 miles) of wiring -- twice that of a normal 747 -- are hardened to protect from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects of a nuclear blast.

Onboard medical facilities include a pharmacy, accident and emergency equipment and a fold-out operating table.

Another special addition is the in-flight refuelling connection which gives Air Force One the ability to stay up in the air indefinitely in an emergency situation.
/ENDS