Being the leader of the free world is a pretty tough job. You have to make
sure that America's interests are looked after both at home and abroad and also look
dignified and statesmanlike in the process. President’s job came with great power
and responsibility. Who is this? The president or Spiderman.
So, you shouldn't be surprised to learn what a few, but noteworthy, additional benefits are.
One of these are the high-tech protective measures that the president is able to enjoy.
Here are the 10 most mind-blowing presidential security features!
Number 10 - Concealed oxygen. Of course, there is one potential
way of puncturing the beast armor, and that is in the form of poison.
If the air inside the car was ever to become toxic to the commander in chief,
then the oxygen supply concealed in the vehicle's trunk would be called into action.
The car also boast night, vision cameras and tear gas cannons,
if things ever really get out of hand. Number 9 - The Dillon M134 D Gatling gun.
It's all well and good having a load of armor to protect the president if he was to come
under attack, but it would also be a good idea. If the secret service could fight back rather
than just cow behind the Bulletproof glass. This is why the presidential motorcade comes
packed with the six-barrel Dillon, M134 D Gatling gun that can fire thousands of rounds per minute.
It has been described as the finest, small calibre defence suppression weapon in the world,
and can hit around 3000 rounds per minute. It is fed from either a 3000 or 4,400 round
magazine and when the gun is fired, the driver has to start the car's windshield
wipers to be able to see the road ahead. It is not housed in the beast itself, but in one
of the other cars in the motorcade and pops out of the vehicle's roof in the event of an emergency,
of course, the secret service is all packing, considerable firepower, too.
Number 8 - Eight-Inch-Thick Armoured Doors. The president's car is generally referred
to as the beast. This could be an obscure reference to a popular member of the X-men,
but it probably has a lot more to do with its remarkable security features.
It's basically impregnable. The vehicle comes with eight-inch-thick armoured doors and glass
that can stop a 44 Magnum bullet. Its body is made up of five inches
of military grade armour, and the beast also features armoured floor plates to
protect the president from any pesky bombs placed or thrown underneath it.
The car also has an armoured gas tank with a special foam that will seal itself, if puncture.
An additional safety measure sees the beast fly in advance of air force one, when the
president is on the move, meaning wherever the president goes, the beast goes with him.
Number 7 - Bulletproof Glass. The President's inauguration
is a rare moment when he has to set foot in front of hundreds of thousands of people, which means
potentially hundreds of thousands of threats. This requires some fancy Bulletproof glass. The
glass outta president's inauguration is made up of around three inches of pretty special stuff.
It is a combination of a range of space age material, which includes glass,
ceramic, crystal, and even polymers, and is designed to resist bullets and bomb blasts.
Number 6 - Hidden flares. Okay, so the beast security features are pretty
impressive, but if you really want to delve into the high-tech world of James Bond badassery, then
counterintuitively, we have to take to the skies. Air force one, otherwise known as AF1. Although
confusingly, there are two of them, is one of the most pimped out planes around.
For instance, its wings are no ordinary wings. They come with hidden flares to
distract discourage or disrupt enemy missiles and heat seeking projectiles.
The plane is also equipped with electronic countermeasures that can jam
enemy radar and disarm their missiles. Number 5 - Extra heavy shielding.
So, it can Dodge missiles, but what if air force one is facing something a touch, more pernicious?
Say a nuclear blast. Well, it can survive that too.
This is down to its extra protective shielding, which protects its electronics
from the electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast.
Number 4 - The retractable stairs. You might not think that stairs can
do a whole lot of damage, unless of course you carelessly slip on one.
But actually, what if some insidious individual was to get their hands on the airport's steps
in advance, they could do all sorts of things to it, to ensure it's the last stairs
the president will ever set foot on. This is why air force one comes with its
own handy retractable stairs. Meaning it remains entirely untampered with.
These are located at both the rear and front entrances. So there should be no hanging around,
waiting for the local airport to get this act together.
Air force one also stands about as high as a six-story building.
So jumping really isn't an option. Number 3 - Refuelling in the air.
One of the most remarkable security features of Air Force One is its
ability to refuel while in flight. When the plane is in need of a top up,
a second plane magically arrives to do the job for it. So, Air Force One, if required,
never actually has to land. This would only ever happen
in an emergency. And it's not as if it necessarily needs frequent refuelling.
Air force One can hold 203,000 litters of fuel, which means it can safely fly halfway around the
world without needing a top up. When fully loaded,
it also weighs a hefty 377,000 kilograms. Number 2 - Air Force One, Is almost super Sonic.
One of the biggest perks of flying like the president is that when you really have to get
somewhere, you can get there very quickly. The plane can fly over 600 miles per hour,
or about 92% the speed of sound. It's so fast, the F-16 fighter planes that escorted
the president's plane after the September 11th terrorist attacks requested that the pilot slowed
the plane down a touch so they could keep up. The idea is that should no ground positions feel
completely secure. The plane can function as an in-air bunker for the president and their team.
As was the case for a while on September 11th. Should the president ever get stuck in the
air for long periods of time? He will definitely be looked after as the plane
not only includes an office and conference room, but also his own bedroom, a gym and a kitchen.
The plane also reaches Heights of 45,100 feet. Commercial flights,
usually hover at around 30,000 feet. Number 1- The inflight operating room
You might already be aware that a doctor accompanies the president everywhere he goes.
However, what if there is an emergency in flight and the
president absolutely has to be operated on. Well, that's why air force one has its very
own operating room. The area includes a heavily stocked pharmacy, medical tools and operating
table and equipment as well as a store of the president's blood type chilling in the fridge.
So, there you go. While the president of the United States might be a particularly
high-profile individual, they are also a highly protected one too.
So, what are your favourite security feature? Or can you
suggest ways to make the president even safer? Are there any gadgets from the world of 007,
the secret service should be looking into? As always let us know in the comments below.