U.S presidential aircrafts - E-4, VC-25 and others

A

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Trying to wrap my brain around the diverse "Air Force One" and also the E- series (E-2, E-3 and the like)

- In 1972 Nixon went for another VC-137 (SAM-27000)
- at the same time the E-4A entered service
- 15 years later the President finally got a pair of 747, the VC-25

So why didn't Nixon went for a 747 in 1972 ? More exactly, Boeing replaced the "doomsday 707" with a "doomstay 747" yet the President remained stuck with a 707 ? Makes no sense.

As for the E series, started with AEW (E-1, E-2, E-3) and then went with something like "flying command center" - for fighters (E-3) ground troops (E-8) the nuclear triad (E-6, E-4) and a bunch of other missions ?
Wikipedia - United States tri-service EW aircraft designations post-1962 - so many different missions. Pretty weird.
 
Well, remember that SAM 27000 entered service in 1972. That's not when it was approved for service in the USAF. I would imagine that it was procured some time before that, at which point the 747 program was in its infancy. The Secret Service no doubt would have objected to a brand-new, untested plane being used as Air Force One. That's part of the reason why the VC-25A is a 747-200B, and not a 747-400.
 

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