US President Joe Biden completed his first flight aboard the new VH-92A helicopter, which serves as Marine One.
This flight represents an important milestone in the long-awaited program to modernize the helicopters used to transport the president and vice president, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Biden boarded the Sikorsky-built helicopter after landing on Air Force One in Chicago, where he will speak at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night. His first presidential flight took him from O’Hare International Airport to the parking lot of Chicago’s Soldier Field, which is often used as a landing strip for presidential travel.
This was a key milestone in a two-decade-long process to replace Vietnam-era helicopters, some of which have been used to transport presidents since the 1970s.
The Bush administration had initially attempted to purchase new helicopters to improve communications and operational capabilities after September 11, 2001. However, President Barack Obama dropped this initiative after costs were drastically exceeded.
The new program was launched by the Obama administration and the helicopter, dubbed the Patriot by its manufacturer, was first unveiled to the public during the Trump administration. But problems with the secure onboard communications system – needed to allow the president to hold classified conversations and make military decisions in an emergency – as well as a tendency to scorch the South Lawn of the White House, led to years of delays to the program.
News.Az
