The U.S. Marine Corps has, for the first time, flown the U.S. President aboard one of its VH-92A Patriot presidential helicopters, having finally received approval for regular use in the ‘Marine One’ presidential airlift role. The milestone means that the longstanding concerns about the helicopter’s critical secure communications suite have been addressed. The historic flight also comes on the same day that the Marines announced they had received their 23rd and final example of the Patriot, delivered by Lockheed Martin.
The first scheduled Marine One sortie for the VH-92 took place this afternoon, with President Joe Biden embarking in the helicopter at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, before making the flight to Chicago’s Soldier Field, ahead of an appearance at the Democrat National Convention taking place in the city.
Also today, the Presidential Helicopters Program Office (PMA-274) and the Marine Corps announced that the delivery of the final VH-92 took place this month, completing the program of record.
The total inventory of 23 VH-92A aircraft comprises 21 operational and two test aircraft. According to the U.S. Navy, “This quantity allows for aircraft to be ready to support the executive lift mission, undergo various levels of maintenance, lifecycle upgrades, and provide assets for pilot/aircrew training.”
“This exceptional team has successfully completed the program of record for the VH-92A within budget and schedule,” said Brig. Gen. David Walsh, program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault, and special mission programs, in a media release. “This helicopter not only embodies the hard work and dedication of those responsible for building and delivering the aircraft, but it will remain a recognizable patriotic asset known around the globe for safety, security, and reliability.”
The VH-92 fleet is operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) but until now that unit hadn’t been able to use the type as “a primary helicopter lift platform” to shuttle the President, their family, and closest advisors around at home and abroad.
In the meantime, Marine One missions (the callsign is only formally used when the President is on board) had been undertaken using HMX-1’s fleet of older ‘white top’ presidential helicopters, namely 10 VH-3D and six VH-60N aircraft, which the VH-92 is intended to replace. As of today, the Navy says, HMX-1 has nine VH-92s assigned.
The path to getting the VH-92 approved for the Marine One mission has been a long one.
Under the VXX competition to replace the older presidential helicopters, Sikorsky’s VH-92 initially lost out to the Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel, a derivative of the Leonardo AW101. But as development costs skyrocketed, the competition was relaunched in 2010, and by mid-2013, all other candidates had left the competition, leaving Sikorsky victorious.
In May 2014, it was announced that the VH-92 had won the VXX competition, with Sikorsky receiving a $1.2-billion development contract the same month.
As of 2018, the Marine Corps expected that the VH-92 would have fully replaced its VH-3Ds and VH-60Ns before the end of 2022. In 2019, the service was predicting that VH-92s would be operating in some capacity by 2020.
The Marines eventually declared initial operational capability with the VH-92 in April 2022, after which problems involving the type’s Mission Communication System (MCS), something you can read more about here, prevented it from actually flying in the presidential airlift role.
As of May 2022, The War Zone reported that the timeline for fixing the MCS was still to be determined, while the Navy began to raise questions about funding the fixed needed.
Clearly, the VH-92’s secure communications systems are vital to its ability to undertake the Marine One mission. Without it, the President and their top advisors didn’t have the required communications for the National Command Authority, which ensures that U.S. nuclear deterrent capabilities can be called upon, for example.
Alongside this, there have been issues with the helicopter’s engine exhaust scorching the White House lawn. While it’s still unclear if the required modifications to the exhaust system have been made, operating from grass isn’t relevant for deployments elsewhere, such as operating out of O’Hare.
Now that the VH-92 is formally approved for the presidential airlift role, the helicopter will become a more common sight around the globe, as well.
Normally, any Presidential trip will be supported by at least two helicopters from HMX-1, being transported to their destination using U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airlifters. Oftentimes, while the motorcade may be in use, the aircraft remain hangared but ready to fly to whisk the President away to a more secure locale outside of the immediate area.
Related to this, VH-92s before now have been flying for some contingency operations and have even moved with the President, without taking him on board until now. As you can read about here, for example, in early 2023, a single VH-92 was deployed to Las Vegas in a “standby capacity” ahead of President Biden’s visit there.
While it’s been a long time coming, today’s mission finally demonstrates that the VH-92 is ready to take on the presidential airlift role and that full replacement of the veteran VH-3D and the somewhat less antiquated VH-60N is now very much becoming a reality.
UPDATE: 8/20/2024 —
The U.S. Marine Corps has provided the following statement about the VH-92A’s milestone flight:
“Monday night in Chicago – for the first time – the President rode in the new Marine One helicopter, the VH-92A Patriot. After a transition period, the VH-92A Patriot will eventually replace the VH-3D Sea King and VH-60N White Hawk helicopter.”
“The iconic ‘white top’ paint scheme of previous Marine One aircraft is represented in the new VH-92A, paying homage to the distinguished legacy of Marine One helicopters dating back to the famed colors pioneered in the late 1950’s.”
“The President’s current Marine One helicopter, the VH-3D, entered service in 1978. The VH-60 began service as a Presidential helicopter in 1987.”
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com