In 2018, President Donald Trump struck a $3.9 billion deal with plane manufacturer Boeing for the development and manufacture of two brand new Air Force One planes. Trump requested that the aircraft be ready for 2021, but on Thursday, the expected delivery date for the new planes moved to possibly 2024.
Andrew Hunter, the assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics for the United States Air Force confirmed in a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing that the delivery would be late. Hunter said that the VC-25B presidential planes will be anywhere between two and three years late, meaning the current administration won’t see the planes unless President Joe Biden runs again and wins a second term.
“We are anticipating at this point a delay to the previously approved program schedule on the order of 24 to 36 months — so two to three years, which is obviously quite a significant delay,” Hunter said.
Why Are They Late?
During the subcommittee hearing, Hunter said that the problem was caused by a subcontractor that was incapable of doing their required job modifying the interior of the plane. Subcontractors are essential to the production of the presidential planes and additional subcontractors have since been hired to resolve issues caused by the first subcontractor.
Boeing engineers have even taken on some of the jobs fixing the problems.
In April, the Wall Street Journal reported on some of those problems, explaining that Boeing now expected that the planes would be 17 months late – but the Air Force seems to think that the delays will take longer than two years.
Boeing Regrets the Deal
In April, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun expressed regret over the deal and said that the company probably shouldn’t have accepted it, citing the risks involved with taking on such a mammoth project. Boeing reported a net loss of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year and has lost $1.1 billion on costs relating to the modification of the two 747 jumbo jets that will become the next Air Force One planes.
Under the deal made with the former president, Boeing is on the hook for the costs of overrunning the contract. It means that the delays and problems experienced by the company won’t cost the U.S. government or the U.S. taxpayer.
“Air Force One I’m just going to call a very unique moment, a very unique negotiation, a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldn’t have taken,” Calhoun told analysts during a call. “But we are where we are, and we’re going to deliver great airplanes.”
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
