Editing Boeing 747 (section)

=== Government, military, and other variants ===
[[File:Air Force One over Mt. Rushmore.jpg|thumb|[[Air Force One]], a [[Boeing VC-25]], over [[Mount Rushmore]]]]
[[File:Boeing 747 AAC cutaway.png|thumb|747 "airborne aircraft carrier" concept |alt=Silhouette diagram of 747 airborne aircraft carrier aircraft]]
[[File:Atlantis on Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.jpg|thumb|right|[[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] carrying a [[Space Shuttle orbiter]]]]

* '''[[Boeing VC-25|VC-25]]''' – This aircraft is the U.S. Air Force [[very important person]] (VIP) version of the 747-200B. The U.S. Air Force operates two of them in [[Very Important Person|VIP]] configuration as the VC-25A. Tail numbers 28000 and 29000 are popularly known as ''[[Air Force One]]'', which is technically the air-traffic call sign for any [[United States Air Force]] aircraft carrying the U.S. president.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 1, 2003 |title=Factsheets: VC-25 – Air Force One |url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104588/vc-25-air-force-one/ |access-date=November 30, 2020 |publisher=U.S. Air Force}}</ref> Partially completed aircraft from Everett, Washington, were flown to [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]], Kansas, for final outfitting by [[Boeing Military Airplane Company]].<ref>Taylor 1988, pp. 370–371.</ref> Two new aircraft, based around the {{not a typo|747-8}}, are being procured which will be designated as VC-25B.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Macias |first1=Amanda |last2=Breuninger |first2=Kevin |date=February 27, 2018 |title=The White House cuts $3.9&nbsp;billion deal with Boeing for two new Air Force Ones |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/27/the-white-house-has-cut-a-deal-with-boeing-for-two-new-air-force-ones-nbc-news.html |access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref>
* '''[[Boeing E-4|E-4B]]''' – This is an airborne command post designed for use in nuclear war. Three E-4As, based on the 747-200B, with a fourth aircraft, with more powerful engines and upgraded systems delivered in 1979 as an E-4B, with the three E-4As upgraded to this standard.<ref>Bowers 1988, pp. 528–529.</ref><ref name="donp76-7">Donald and Lake 1996, pp. 76–77.</ref> Formerly known as the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (referred to colloquially as "Kneecap"), this type is now referred to as the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC).<ref name="donp76-7" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Terdiman |first=Donald |date=July 23, 2013 |title=Aboard America's Doomsday command and control plane |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/aboard-americas-doomsday-command-and-control-plane/ |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=CNET}}</ref>
** '''[[Survivable Airborne Operations Center]]''' - In April 2024, [[Sierra Nevada Corporation]] was awarded a contract to develop and build the [[Survivable Airborne Operations Center]] aircraft to replace the [[Boeing E-4|Boeing E-4 NAOC]]. Five 747-8Is were purchased from [[Korean Air]] for conversion, with the contract calling for nine in total.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/korean-air-sells-five-jets-us-aerospace-firm-sierra-nevada-4321311 | title=Korean Air sells five jets to US aerospace firm Sierra Nevada|date=May 2024|website=CNA|publisher=Mediacorp}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://theaviationist.com/2024/04/27/sierra-nevada-saoc-announcement/ | title=Sierra Nevada Corporation Will Build E-4B 'Doomsday' Plane Replacement | date=April 27, 2024 }}</ref>
* '''[[Boeing YAL-1|YAL-1]]''' – This was the experimental [[Airborne Laser]], a planned component of the U.S. [[National Missile Defense]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Airborne Laser returns for more testing |url=https://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story?id=123038913 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308070103/http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123038913 |archive-date=March 8, 2007 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |publisher=Air Force}}</ref>
* '''[[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] (SCA)''' – Two 747s were modified to carry the [[Space Shuttle orbiter]]. The first was a 747-100 (N905NA), and the other was a 747-100SR (N911NA). The first SCA carried the prototype [[Space Shuttle Enterprise|''Enterprise'']] during the [[Approach and Landing Tests]] in the late 1970s. The two SCA later carried all five operational Space Shuttle orbiters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 7, 2017 |editor-last=Gibbs |editor-first=Yvonne |title=NASA Armstrong Fact Sheet: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-013-DFRC.html |access-date=November 30, 2020 |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref>
* '''[[Boeing 747-400|C-33]]''' – This aircraft was a proposed U.S. military version of the 747-400F intended to augment the [[C-17 Globemaster III|C-17]] fleet. The plan was canceled in favor of additional C-17s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tirpak |first=John A. |date=February 1996 |title=Airlift Moves Up and Out |url=http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1996/February%201996/0296airlift.aspx |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209065443/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/1996/February%201996/0296airlift.aspx |archive-date=February 9, 2011 |access-date=November 30, 2020 |website=Air Force Magazine}}</ref>
* '''KC-25/33''' – A proposed 747-200F was also adapted as an [[aerial refueling]] [[Tanker (aircraft)|tanker]] and was bid against the DC-10-30 during the 1970s Advanced Cargo Transport Aircraft (ACTA) program that produced the [[KC-10 Extender]]. Before the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]], Iran bought four 747-100 aircraft with air-refueling boom conversions to support its fleet of [[F-4 Phantom]]s.<ref>Hamilton, S. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080216064539/http://www.leeham.net/filelib/ScottsColumn091107.pdf "Boeing advanced 747 as tanker (PDF)"]. ''Leeham Company'', September 11, 2007. Retrieved: December 17, 2007.</ref> There is a report of the Iranians using a 747 Tanker in [[H-3 airstrike]] during [[Iran–Iraq War]].<ref name=MEMIM>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=H3 airstrike |url=http://memim.com/h3-airstrike.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129042258/http://memim.com/h3-airstrike.html |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |access-date=January 20, 2016 |website=MEMIM Encyclopedia}}</ref> It is unknown whether these aircraft remain usable as tankers. Since then there have been proposals to use a 747-400 for that role.<ref name="APA_KC-33">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050716004716/http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-2005-02.pdf "KC-33A: Closing the Aerial Refuelling and Strategic Air Mobility Gaps (PDF)"]. ''Air Power Australia Analysis APA-2005-02'', April 16, 2005. Retrieved: December 17, 2007.</ref>
* '''747F Airlifter''' – Proposed US [[military transport aircraft|military transport]] version of the 747-200F intended as an alternative to further purchases of the [[C-5 Galaxy]]. This 747 would have had a special nose jack to lower the sill height for the nose door. System tested in 1980 on a [[Flying Tiger Line]] 747-200F.<ref>AFMD-82-123 Improper Lobbying Activities by the Department of Defense on the Proposed Procurement of the C-5B Aircraft https://www.gao.gov/assets/210/205747.pdf</ref>
* '''747 CMCA''' – This "Cruise Missile Carrier Aircraft" variant was considered by the U.S. Air Force during the development of the [[B-1 Lancer]] strategic bomber. It would have been equipped with 50 to 100 [[AGM-86 ALCM]] [[cruise missile]]s on rotary launchers. This plan was abandoned in favor of more conventional strategic bombers.<ref>Jenkins, Dennis R. ''B-1 Lancer, The Most Complicated Warplane Ever Developed''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. {{ISBN|0-07-134694-5}}.</ref>
* '''MC-747''' – Two separate studies from the 1970s and 2005, the first by Boeing and the second by [[Thiokol|ATK]] and [[BAE Systems]], to horizontally store up to four [[LGM-118 Peacekeeper|Peacekeeper]] [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|ICBM]]s or seven [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minutemen]] above bomb bay-like doors in the first study,<ref name="MC-747 study 1 FaE">{{cite web | title=Boeing 747 Nuke Launcher – Found And Explained | website=Found And Explained – Aviation Stories, Facts and Animations! | date=May 13, 2021 | url=https://foundandexplained.com/2021/05/13/boeing-747-nuke-launcher/ | access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref><ref name="MC-747 study 1 APR">{{cite web | title=MC-747 – Aerospace Projects Review Blog | website=aerospaceprojectsreview.com | date=September 11, 2013 | url=https://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/blog/?p=1316 | access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref> and to vertically store twelve Minutemen or 32 [[Joint Direct Attack Munition|JDAM]]-equipped conventional missiles for launch from ''in situ'' tubes in the second.<ref name="Mizokami 2016">{{cite web | last=Mizokami | first=Kyle | title=That Time a Defense Contractor Wanted to Put ICBMs on 747s | website=Popular Mechanics | date=August 4, 2016 | url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a22197/icbms-on-747s-plan/ | access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref><ref name="MC-747 study 2 US">{{cite web | title=Flying Boomers – The Unwanted Blog | website=up-ship.com | date=August 19, 2011 | url=https://up-ship.com/blog/?p=11404 | access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
* '''747 AAC''' – A Boeing study under contract from the USAF for an "[[airborne aircraft carrier]]" for up to 10 Boeing Model 985-121 "[[Parasite fighter|microfighters]]" with the ability to launch, retrieve, re-arm, and refuel. Boeing believed that the scheme would be able to deliver a flexible and fast carrier platform with global reach, particularly where other bases were not available. Modified versions of the 747-200 and Lockheed C-5A were considered as the base aircraft. The concept, which included a complementary 747 AWACS version with two reconnaissance "microfighters", was considered technically feasible in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 1973 |title=Investigation of a Micro-Fighter / Airborne Aircraft Carrier Concept |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/529372.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113142104/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/529372.pdf |archive-date=November 13, 2014 |access-date=November 21, 2015 |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center}}</ref>
* '''[[Evergreen 747 Supertanker]]''' – A Boeing 747-200 modified as an aerial application platform for fire fighting using {{convert|20000|USgal|L}} of firefighting chemicals.<ref>[http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgstc.nsf/0/3daa36596e85e7a58625721f00596da7/$FILE/ST01912LA.pdf "Supplementary Type Certificate ST01912LA Installation and removal of internal tanks, associated systems and support structure for the aerial dispersant of liquids"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822231113/http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgstc.nsf/0/3daa36596e85e7a58625721f00596da7/$FILE/ST01912LA.pdf |date=August 22, 2011 }}. US Federal Aviation Administration, October 27, 2006.</ref>
* '''[[Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy]]''' (SOFIA) – A former Pan Am Boeing 747SP modified to carry a large infrared-sensitive telescope, in a joint venture of NASA and [[German Aerospace Center|DLR]]. High altitudes are needed for [[infrared astronomy]], to rise above infrared-absorbing water vapor in the atmosphere.<ref name="SOFIA_factsheet">{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 308911 SOFIA Quick Facts |url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/380911main_SOFIA_QuickFacts.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028055114/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/380911main_SOFIA_QuickFacts.pdf |archive-date=October 28, 2009 |access-date=December 2, 2010 |website=nasa.gov |publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |page=1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) |url=http://astro.uchicago.edu/research/stratospheric-observatory-for-infrared-astronomy.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610114345/http://astro.uchicago.edu/research/stratospheric-observatory-for-infrared-astronomy.shtml |archive-date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=December 2, 2020 |website=The University of Chicago: Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics}}</ref>
* A number of other governments also use the 747 as a VIP transport, including Bahrain, Brunei, [[Air transports of Heads of State#India|India]], Iran, [[Air transports of Heads of State#Japan|Japan]], Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Several [[Boeing 747-8]]s have been ordered by [[Boeing Business Jet]] for conversion to VIP transports for several unidentified customers.<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003290459_webbdigboeing05.html "Boeing nets 57 new orders, including big VIP planes."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204023618/http://old.seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2003290459_webbdigboeing05.html |date=February 4, 2016}} ''Seattle Times''. Retrieved: December 14, 2007.</ref>