The Nation - News from Dec. 1, 1988

Sikorsky Aircraft turned over to the Marine Corps the first of nine new presidential helicopters that are equipped with a shield to guard the electronics against the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast. Lt. Gen. Charles Pitman, the head of Marine aviation, said in accepting the $10.5-million Sikorsky VH-60 that the helicopter has no rival in the world. “It will be a great step forward for the nation,” he said at the Sikorsky facility in Stratford, Conn. The presidential helicopter traditionally is called Marine One, as the presidential aircraft is called Air Force One. Pitman said the new white-topped helicopter can travel at speeds up to 345 m.p.h.--more than twice the speed of normal helicopters.