Air International 2020-08
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K.Chapman - The presidential package
A VH-92A crewed by pilots from HMX-1 conducts flight tests over the south lawn of the White House in Washington DC, Virginia, on September 22, 2018.
Over the next few years, the VH-92A will become a common sight over the skies of Washington DC as it ferries the POTUS and other high ranking US officials to and from the White House until its projected replacement date of 2062.
Up close with the new 'Marine One' platform on the tarmac at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The AN/AAQ-24 DIRCM countermeasure suite can be clearly seen as three units on the belly of the helicopter, as can the air-to-ground mobile and long-range radio communication systems.
Six more production Sikorsky VH-92A Presidential Helicopters have been ordered under a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot II contract.
Since it entered service in 1978, the VH-3D has provided support under the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
The VH-92A fleet will be supported by 13 Bell-Boeing MV-22B Ospreys, which are already in-service with the unit. HMX-1's tiltrotor fleet is noticeably different to others employed across the USMC as they sport a similar dark green livery to the 'Marine One' aircraft.