Curious what the logistics are flying the 747 to tel aviv in the middle of a war. What type of fighter escort etc. Interesting that within 24 hours or less they were ready to depart DC, seems like normally these trips planned weeks in advance.
Also telling is that has been ZERO reporting on the route taken and other details. The only thing reported in near-real time so far was the departure around 5 pm from Andrews. Of course, this is a good thing. Maybe FlightAware or some of the other tracking sites have additional info?
It also involves C-17 support for all the entourage vehicles and gear. AF1 is air refeulable, too, so throw in some KC-135/10/46 support if needed. Definitely needed for the C-17s, which do not have the legs of an VC-25..
There is an excellent documentary about Air Force One, made right around 2008, which extensively discusses President Bush's trip to Iraq. The biggest concern they discussed was having the airplane be disabled while on the ground, by a rocket or missile. To counter this, they flew a second 747, to Kuwait (I think) as a hot standby, just in case. That was a much riskier trip, as there were active surface to air missiles operating in the area.
Ridiculous how much it costs the taxpayer every time a President goes somewhere. https://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-one-travel-costs-president-trump-2017-2
Did the mullahs even debate the possibility to bracket the jet while it was sitting on the ground with hundreds of rockets fired all at the same time from Lebanon? Interesting to know if the topic was discussed.
There are lots of ADS-B tracking sites, and for that matter sites which use ATC data in close to real time. That said, AF1 has plenty of ways around that. When President Bush went to Iraq, they filed as a Gulfstream... they were reported as traffic going across the Atlantic, and the other guy said on the radio "That's a Gulfstream? Biggest Gulfstream I've ever seen!"
