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Posted: 2023-03-11 11:16:30

United States president Joe Biden will stick with a blue-and-white colour scheme for the replacement Air Force One jets, discarding a proposed red, white and navy design chosen by former president Donald Trump.

The US Air Force says the light blue on the exterior of the new model of the modified 747s which transport the president will be a little bit deeper and more modern in tone than the robin's egg blue on the current versions of the aircraft.

Boeing is modifying two of its 747-800 aircraft to be suitable to transport the president, enabling them to use the Air Force One call sign when the president is aboard.

They will replace the existing Air Force One fleet of two ageing Boeing 747-200 aircraft, with the first replacement jet expected to be delivered in four years.

The choice of the plane's exterior colours follows an earlier decision by the administration to scrap a red-white-and-blue design favoured by Donald Trump, Mr Biden's immediate predecessor.

A plane in the sky with red lights on
Onboard lights flash red on Air Force One when President Joe Biden is on the aircraft.(AP: Cliff Owen)

In 2018, Mr Trump directed the new jets shed the iconic Kennedy-era blue-and-white design for a navy, white and red colour scheme he chose himself.

The top half of the plane would have been white and the bottom, including the belly, would have been dark blue. A streak of dark red would have run from the cockpit to the tail.

The colouring was almost identical to the exterior of Mr Trump's personal plane.

An Air Force review suggested the darker colours would increase costs and delay delivery of the new jumbo jets.

Formally known as the VC-25B, the new aircraft will replace the current fleet, known as VC-25A, which first carried President George HW Bush, who served from 1989 to 1993.

The Air Force said the current fleet faces capability gaps, rising maintenance costs and parts becoming obsolete.

Modifications to the successor aircraft will include electrical power upgrades, a medical facility and a self-defence system, the Air Force said.

AP

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