The 70-meter-long customised aircraft, proudly emblazoned with the words 'United States of America' across its shining body, has come to symbolise American Presidency over time.
The aircraft, also called the 'Flying White House', enjoys a celebrity status even without the President on board, going by the media attention it hogs throughout the world.
While technically, 'Air Force One' is the official radio call sign used for a United States Air Force aircraft when the President is aboard, two customised Boeing 747-200B Jumbos have essentially come to represent its enduring image.
The aircraft is highly secure considering the technology involved that makes it immune even to electromagnetic interference that may arise out of a nuclear explosion.
More From This Section
The in-built Directional Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) system also enables the aircraft to deflect an incoming missile through a variety of jamming processes disturbing the path of the missile.
In fact, during the September 11, 2001 attacks, the highly advanced security features of the aircraft had prompted a security official, Paul Germaine, to say, "The best thing was to get airborne".