Although President Joe Biden performed his political swan song last night at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago, his appearance was cooler than ever before: He completed the first presidential flight aboard a new generation of Marine One helicopters.
The backstory of the Sikorsky VH-92A that Biden flew from O’Hare Airport to Soldier Field yesterday is a saga that began in 2003, when the Department of Defense decided to modernize the aging presidential fleet. The VH-3Ds entered service in 1974, and the VH-60Ns joined them just 14 years later. After 9/11, the Bush administration wanted a larger, faster, longer-range aircraft with the latest communications technology.
But a series of delays occurred, and a different type of helicopter was chosen for Marine One duties (the designation for when the president is on board) until that project proved too costly. Sikorsky, which had supplied fleets of presidential helicopters since 1957, was hired to convert its civilian S-92 into the more sophisticated VH-92A. In 2014, the helicopter maker and the Defense Department signed a contract for 23 of the converted machines, valued at $4.7 billion. The VH-92A weighs 27,700 pounds and features two General Electric CT7-8A6 turboshaft engines, an improved communications system, space for two pilots, a communications staffer and 14 passengers.
After years of delays, Biden became the first president to fly in the next-generation helicopter.
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The U.S. government took delivery of the final Sikorsky VH-92A at a delivery ceremony last week after the manufacturer began delivering the fleet in 2021. “This milestone is a credit to our valued and long-standing partnership with the Marine Corps as we deliver a highly customized solution for the Marine Corps’ unique, critical mission,” said Richard Benton, vice president and general manager of Sikorsky, at the event.
But there were problems that kept the commander in chief from using the new helicopter. A 2018 Government Accountability Office report found that it scorched landing pads on the White House lawn and had problems with its communications system. The Patriot program said it would try to fix those problems. The complaints resurfaced in a 2022 report, although the VH-92A was cleared for “all missions” a year later. Until this week, however, the new fleet was used only to transport intelligence and low-level government officials. The president, vice president and Cabinet officials were not permitted to fly on the VH-92A.
The ceremonial handover of the last VH-92A from a fleet of 23 helicopters took place at the beginning of the month.
Lockheed Martin
It is not clear what has changed or why. An emailed statement from NAVAIR, the U.S. Department of the Navy agency that oversees the VH-92A program, said several government agencies were working toward a “successful transition” from the VH-3D and VH-60N aircraft to the new VH-92A. “This is an event-driven goal, not a time-driven one,” the agency said. Robb Report yesterday, apparently without knowing that the new Marine One would make its first presidential flight in Chicago.
A timeline for the complete transition from the old generation helicopters to the new Sikorsky fleet is still unclear. But at least Biden had the chance to fly in the new Marine One and he still has five months of presidential travel ahead of him.
