A US official said Friday that the Biden administration would scrap a paint plan for Air Force One proposed by former President Donald Trump after the Air Force determined the design would generate too much heat for the president’s plane.
The current exterior color scheme on presidential aircraft, known as Air Force One, is white with two shades of blue when the president is on board and dates to the administration of President John F.
Trump, who left office in January 2021, wanted to change it to red, white and blue.
“The Trump Paint plan is not being considered because it could entail additional engineering, time and cost,” an administration official said on condition of anonymity.
The Air Force did not immediately comment.
A model of a proposed paint scheme for the next generation of Air Force One is displayed during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Oval Office of the White House on June 20, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
On Wednesday, an Air Force spokesman said dark colors, among other factors, could contribute to temperatures exceeding the current qualification limits of a “small number of components” beneath Air Force One.
In 2018, Boeing Received a $3.9 billion contract by the US President to build two 747-8 aircraft for use as Air Force One, due to be delivered by December 2024.
The Pentagon said this year that the planes were unlikely to be delivered until 2026.
A spokesman for Boeing said it was making progress, “while navigating through some of the challenges.”
The decision on the paint scheme was first reported by Politico.