Secret service
It is commonly noted that a numerous amount of secret service officers are on the plane with the president at any given time. A full service team of hundreds of secret service men and women are tracking the plane and awaiting the president for escort at his destination. When the president lands at an un-secure airport, it is noted that secret service will be present days before arrival scouting the area and making sure it is secure for the president's landing. When the president gets off the plane, two secret service officers are there to greet him and escort him to the next mode of transportation.
Defense mechanisms
Although nobody will ever know the full extent of the mechanisms on the presidential Boeing 747, it has been severely modified in order to provide top safety for the passengers on board, most importantly the president. Here is a long list of security measures that are known or speculated to be a part of the aircraft.
- 85 secure telephone lines allowing the president to reach anyone anywhere in the world securely
- Retractable stairways & baggage compartments to make sure the plane is completely non-reliant on airport facilities to transport the president and his belongings on and off the plane
- Defense electronics that amounts to about 238 miles of wiring
- A high tech outer shell that protects the inside of the plane, with a heavier metal covering the communications area (most important area)
- A special fueling mechanism that allows in-flight fueling from another military aircraft in the case of an emergency or unplanned flight detour
- ECMs or electronic counter measures that allow the plane to jam enemy radar
- Flare mechanisms on both wings of the plane that are able to shoot missile deflecting flares in case of an air or ground missile attack
- A special outer layer that is able to withstand a nuclear bomb explosion from ground
- Armored windows that keep passengers safe in the cabin area
- It is believed that there is a 50. cal machine gun, along with missile firing mechanisms that retract from the wings of the plane
- Many other classified or confidential security devices/mechanisms that are kept secret to be sure of a top safety level