The new Air Force One will be jumbo jets left over from bankrupt Russian airline

On Friday, the US Air Force confirmed that it has purchased two Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental commercial airliners that will be converted over to serve as the nation's next generation presidential transports.

The decision to purchase ready-made commercial airliners instead of custom-built aircraft is part of President Trump's plan to keep the costs of the Presidential Airlift Recapitalization program under control.

"This award is a significant step toward ensuring an overall affordable program," Principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, Darlene Costello, said in a statement. "As we move forward, we will continue to seek and implement cost savings opportunities."

The USAF expects to begin the conversion process in 2019 with the planes set to enter service in 2024- at which point the current pair of Boeing 747-200-based VC-25A will be 34 years old.

(The VC-25A and other presidential aircraft only become Air Force One when the President steps on board.)

"Purchasing these aircraft is a huge step toward replacing the aging VC-25As," executive officer, Maj. Gen. Duke Richardson, said in a statement. "This award keeps us on track to modify and test the aircraft to become presidential mission-ready by 2024."

According to the USAF, modifications will include a mission communications system, electrical power upgrades, a medical facility, an executive interior, and a self-defense system.

Boeing confirmed to Business Insider that the two brand-new jumbo jets were abandoned after Russia's Transaero airline went bust in 2015. At the time, Boeing had already built two of the four 747s Transaero had on order. So instead of delivering the planes, Boeing completed flight testing and sent them to the California desert where they have been waiting for a new buyer. Now, the planes are now destined to take on the call sign, Air Force One.

The USAF declined to disclose the costs of the aircraft. However, the Air Force is believed to have received a significant discount over the 747-8I's list price of $386.8 million.

Air Force One is instantly recognizable - both as the airplane of the President of the United States and as a flying symbol of American military and economic might. With its hand-polished blue, white, and silver livery, it boldly proclaims the arrival of the most powerful man in the world.

What many people don't know is that there isn't one, but two nearly identical Boeing jets that serve as the official aircraft of the president. Normally, the planes are referred to by their tail numbers - 28000 and 29000 - but when the Commander and Chief steps on board, they take on the call sign "Air Force One." In fact, presidential airplanes didn't begin using the Air Force One designation until 1959.

The president's pair of Boeing VC-25A jets are operated by the Presidential Airlift Group out of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. While the current Boeing 747-based planes have been in service for more than two decades, they're simply the latest in a long-line of flying White Houses.

Here's a look back at the history America's presidential airplanes.

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