The world’s most famous jet is a modified Boeing 747-200 with a self-defense system, military avionics, and advanced communications that can turn Air Force One into a flying White House. 
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The US Air Force maintains the two identical Boeing 747-200B planes at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, so if one needs maintenance, the other is on standby. 

Any Air Force plane carrying the sitting US President is called Air Force One, a practice established in 1953 when a commercial flight crossed paths with President Eisenhower's Air Force 8610. Air traffic controllers confused the two planes - both bore the number ‘8610’ - and there was a near collision. Since then, the Air Force One designation has been strictly adhered to. There’s no room for failure when you’re transporting the US President - particularly in worst-case scenarios such as a terrorist attack or a nuclear war. So what are American taxpayers getting for their $3.9 bn? 

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1. Top-notch comms‍

Air Force One has multi-frequency radios for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and satellite communications as well as 87 telephones with three networks ranging from Top Secret down to Non-Secure.

Communications are state-of-the-art. After all, the president may need to conduct government business or direct a federal response to an emergency. After 9/11, AF1 added telecom equipment so the president could address the nation from the skies. The USAF is hoping to find another $30m for upgrades before two new Boeings are delivered in 2027 and 2028.

What’s on the USAF Wish List? Low Latency Worldwide Data Connections and MR-TCDL allowing data to be exchanged at extremely fast rates via ground, airborne, and satellite networks. 

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2. Air Force One can refuel in mid-air  

The 232-foot-long aircraft has four jet engines, each with 56,700 pounds of thrust. It has a max speed of 630 miles per hour (Mach 0.92) and can fly up to 45,100 feet. While it has a range of 7,800 statute miles, Air Force One can be refueled in-air in case of emergency, although it isn’t thought to have done so yet with a US president on board.

3. Air Force One is a flying embassy for VIPs

Air Force One’s 4,000-square-foot interior includes a conference/dining room, quarters for the president and the first lady, and an office area for senior staff members. A second office can be converted into a medical facility. There are work and rest areas for the presidential staff, guests, media, and Air Force crews, and two galleys can provide 100 meals in one sitting. The principal differences between Air Force One and the standard Boeing 747 include the state-of-the-art navigation, electronic, and communications equipment; its interior configuration and furnishings; self-contained baggage loader; and front and aft air-stairs. Also, every inch of AF1 is polished - by hand - before every flight.

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4. Defenses include jammers to disrupt missile sensors‍

While many of the aircraft's defenses are highly classified, the body of the Boeing jets are reportedly hardened to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear blast. The aircraft also has multiple infrared countermeasures to redirect air-to-air and ground-to-air missiles. “AN/ALQ-204 Matador jammers radiate altered infrared light that disrupts missile sensors, so they lose sight of the heat produced by the 747's engines,” according to Simple Flying. “The plane is also equipped with chaff and flares that, when deployed, burn at a high enough temperature to misguide a targeting missile.”

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5. Bush had a tense day aboard AF1 on 9/11

As President G.W. Bush boarded Air Force 1 in Sarasota, Florida the first thing he asked was: “Are my wife and kids safe?” As the plane was taking off at 9:55 am, there was a false report about a person with a stinger missile on the runway so the pilot turned AF1 around. As Bush policy advisor Karl Rove recalled: “Col. Tillman stood that thing on its tail - just nose up, tail down, like we were on a roller coaster.” As AF1 headed to D.C., the Pentagon was hit. Fearing they were next, security searched for bombs as the pilot flew at 45,000 feet to prevent external threats. Col. Mark Tillman feared two unidentified jets were enemy aircraft before they identified themselves: “You could hear the Texas twang in their voices,” Tillman said. “They explain to us [that] they’re a flight of two F-16s, and they are our cover. And that was the coolest thing ever in my life.” At 8:30 pm, Bush addressed the nation from the White House.
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6. Johnson was sworn in on AF1 after JFK’s murder

The first and only time a US president has taken the oath of office on an airplane occurred on November 22, 1963,  two hours and eight minutes after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas. The oath of office was administered for the first time by a woman, Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes. Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Kennedy, and several members of the White House staff attended. After the ceremony the plane, carrying Jackie Kennedy and Mrs. Johnson, flew to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington with the body of John F. Kennedy. As he left Air Force One, Johnson remarked: “We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help - and God's.”

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7. What happens to retired Air Force One jets?

Retired Air Force One planes are in demand. The SAM 27000 - used by President Nixon through to George W. Bush - was shipped to California’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. President Eisenhower's Columbine II was retired in 1968 and sold to a private buyer. President Truman's plane, a military version of the Douglas DC-6, was retired to the National Museum of the USAF in Dayton, Ohio. At the suggestion of the aircraft’s pilot, Truman named it The Independence in recognition of his hometown, Independence, Mo. One of the plane’s most historic flights occurred in October 1950, when it carried Truman to Wake Island to discuss the Korean War situation with General Douglas MacArthur.