The U.S. Marine Corps received the final batch of its 23 new VH-92A Patriot presidential transport helicopters last week, an air frame most famously known as Marine One when carrying America’s commander-in-chief.
Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, delivered the final VH-92A Patriot helicopter in a ceremony at the company’s Owego, N.Y., facility on Aug. 14, Lockheed and Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR, said Monday.
“This delivery represents a significant milestone and new chapter in the rich, 67-year history of Marines providing helicopter transport of the president of the United States,” Lt. Gen. Bradford Gering, the Marine Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation, said in a statement. “The VH-92A Patriot brings increased capabilities for this no-fail mission supporting the commander-in-chief around the world.”
The VH-92A carries the same iconic dark green and white livery as past Marine One helicopters, and will carry the same “White Top” nickname as the older ones.
President Joe Biden on Monday took his first flight aboard the newest Marine One after years of delays to the program to replace the aging aircraft that carry the president and vice president.
Biden boarded the helicopter after arriving on Air Force One in Chicago where he is speaking Monday evening at the Democratic National Convention. The maiden presidential voyage carried him from O’Hare International Airport to the parking lot of Chicago’s Soldier Field, often used as a landing zone for presidential travel.
It marked a crucial milestone in a two-decade-long process to replace the Vietnam-era helicopters that have been in use carrying presidents, in some cases, since the 1970s.
An initial effort to purchase new helicopters was kicked off by the Bush administration in an effort to improve communications and mission capabilities in the post-September 11, 2001 environment, but it was scrapped by President Barack Obama after rampant cost overruns.
NAVAIR said the new helicopters will provide better performance and be able to carry a greater payload than the VH-3D and VH-60N, while sporting improved crew coordination and communication systems.
Two of the 23 VH-92A helicopters will be used for testing, NAVAIR said, and the rest will be used for operations. This will provide enough helicopters to transport the president, undergo necessary maintenance and allow pilots and aircrew to train.
The new program was started by the Obama administration, and the helicopter, branded the “Patriot,” made its public debut during the Trump administration. But issues with the secure communications system on board — required so that the president can carry out classified conversations and make military decisions in an emergency — as well as a tendency to scorch the White House South Lawn led to years of delays to the program.
The Marine Corps reported last year that the communications issues had been resolved, but it was not clear whether modifications to the exhaust system have eliminated the threat to the White House grass.
The Marines have been using the VH-92 helicopters for several years in regular service, including test flights around Washington, D.C. and to carry White House staff and security personnel.
The new helicopters are based on the commercially-available Sikorsky S-92 and are larger and have longer range than the older VH-3D and VH-60N models.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
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