Air Force Two Photos: Inside the Vice President’s Plane

Similar to the president aboard “Air Force One,” the designation of “Air Force Two” refers to any Air Force plane carrying the vice president, not a specific jet or model.

Over the years, several different planes have carried the Air Force Two title, transporting vice presidents and their staff around the world. The most commonly used jet is a C-32, a customized military version of a commercial Boeing 757-200 plane, according to the Air Force.

The president and vice president don’t travel together for security reasons.

Service members are required to salute the president as commander in chief, and it’s customary for troops to salute vice presidents, as well.

Nixon, who served as President Dwight D. Eisenhower‘s vice president, flew on a Boeing VC-137A Stratoliner to visit the USSR in 1959. 

The jet was first used by President Gerald Ford’s vice president, Nelson Rockefeller.

The plane transferred units in 2005, during the Bush administration, and retired in 2011. It was put up for auction by the General Services Administration in 2013.

Gore worked on his acceptance speech for the 2000 Democratic National Convention aboard Air Force Two.

The clock featured the time in Washington, DC, and whatever destination Air Force Two was bound for.

With a wingspan of nearly 125 feet, each engine features 41,700 pounds of static thrust, according to the Air Force.

Biden traveled over one million miles on Air Force Two during his time as vice president.

Staffers celebrated the vice president’s birthday with streamers and balloons aboard the jet.

Harris brought cupcakes and sang “Happy Birthday” to her domestic policy advisor, Kate Childs Graham, in 2021.

During the Biden administration, second gentleman Doug Emhoff traveled aboard Air Force Two. He was photographed filling out his March Madness basketball bracket on his way to Las Vegas in March 2021.

Vice presidents and staff occasionally hold informal briefings with reporters known as “press gaggles” aboard Air Force Two.

The rear cabin also contains a galley, two bathrooms, and closets.

As of July 2026, Vance has taken nine trips abroad since taking office, including visits to France, Germany, Greenland, Vatican City, Italy, Israel, and India.

Kirk was an early supporter of JD Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign and pushed for his nomination as Trump’s vice president. Kirk was fatally shot on the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” on September 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Air Force Two flew Kirk’s body from Salt Lake City to Phoenix for burial. The vice president helped carry Kirk’s casket onto the plane along with other uniformed service members. Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, joined JD Vance and Usha Vance on board.

JD Vance recalled the experience in his memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” writing of Erika Kirk that he had “never seen a person so heavy with grief.”

On July 27, Trump flew to Michigan to tour General Motors’ Milford Proving Ground. He boarded a C-32 that had been repainted red, white, and blue to match the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft he accepted as a gift from Qatari royals to use as Air Force One. The C-32’s new look also featured an updated waving flag design on the tail.

After Trump flew back from a NATO summit on July 8 on the old Air Force One instead of the VC-25B, prompting questions about the security of the new jet, Trump told reporters that the new plane would be removed from service for a month to be “maxed out.”