‘Air Force 2nd Aircraft’ Severely Aged... Why Can't It Be Replaced?

First Lady Kim Jung-sook, wife of President Moon Jae-in, is seen waving her hand as she boards Air Force Two to visit India in 2018. Photo by Cheong Wa Dae

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As the presidential aircraft, the ‘Air Force One,’ is set to be replaced with a new model starting November this year, calls are growing to also replace the aging ‘Air Force Two.’

The current Air Force One, leased from Korean Air, is a Boeing B747-400. The lease contract was initially signed for five years in February 2010 during the Lee Myung-bak administration and was renewed under the Park Geun-hye administration, and it has been in use since then. This is an outdated model mostly retired by commercial airlines. It is planned to be replaced with Boeing’s new model, the B747-8i, leased from November this year to November 2026. The newly leased aircraft will undergo modifications such as installation of satellite communication systems, missile warning and defense devices, seat rearrangement, certification procedures, and test flights, and will begin its mission from November next year.

The issue lies with Air Force Two. Air Force Two is a completely different model from the presidential aircraft known as ‘Air Force One.’ Air Force One is used for the president’s overseas trips and is commonly referred to as ‘Code One.’ However, it is actually a Boeing 747-400 (2001 model) passenger aircraft leased from Korean Air, so strictly speaking, it is more accurate to call it a ‘presidential charter plane’ rather than a ‘presidential aircraft.’

On the other hand, Air Force Two is owned by the Air Force, not a commercial airline. Since the government owns it, Air Force Two can be considered the true presidential aircraft rather than Air Force One. This aircraft was once called Air Force One but was relegated to Air Force Two after the president’s overseas trips began using a leased passenger plane owned by a commercial airline.

Air Force Two is a Boeing 737-3Z8 model introduced in 1985 during the administration of former President Chun Doo-hwan.

This model has a short range, so it is usually used for domestic flights rather than international ones. The aircraft is small and has a limited range. It can only accommodate about 40 passengers. It was even urgently deployed from Korea ahead of President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the last stop of his Southeast Asia tour.

Although Air Force Two is considered a ‘white elephant’ because it cannot be used for long-distance travel, it has played a significant role when South Korean officials visited North Korea. Air Force Two was used during the June 2000 inter-Korean summit and when Lim Dong-won, the presidential special envoy for diplomacy, security, and unification, visited North Korea in January 2003. Also, in September 2018, the special envoy delegation to North Korea flew to Pyongyang aboard Air Force Two.

At that time, the special envoy delegation did not use a commercial aircraft but Air Force Two, which is known to be related to U.S. sanctions against North Korea. The U.S. executive order on North Korea sanctions stipulates that any flight passing through North Korea cannot land in the U.S. for 180 days. If the special envoy delegation had used a commercial charter flight, that airline’s aircraft would have been banned from landing in the U.S. for six months.

However, as the model is now 35 years old, maintenance costs have increased. The average maintenance cost over the past four years has approached 12 billion KRW. Recently, the engines underwent major overhaul overseas, and last year, the internal insulation of the cockpit and avionics compartment was replaced, resulting in high maintenance expenses. Given that it is a model representing the nation alongside Air Force One, there are strong calls to pursue the introduction of a new aircraft.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.