The Department of Defense has apparently begun the search for a replacement for the Air Force VC-25A — the Boeing 747-200 better known as “Air Force One” when the President of the United States is onboard. (There are actually two similarly configured 747s.)

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on Sept. 9 released a Sources Sought Synopsis, a survey asking potential contractors about their ability to create a suitable replacement to the VC-25, the modified Boeing 747-200 that has carried presidents since 1990.

The program for replacement actually began several years ago, and there were rumors that Airbus would offer an A380 — though the spectre of the American Presidential airplane being a “foreign” aircraft stoked much criticism.  The replacement is almost certainly going to be a modern Boeing aircraft, though the contractor who modifies the aircraft may yet be another company.

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