WASHINGTON — Boeing is expected to deliver the first of two modernized Air Force One aircraft in roughly two-and-a-half years, a timeline earlier than recent forecasts but still well behind an original schedule for the embattled program, according to the Air Force.
In a statement on Friday, an Air Force spokesperson said the service awarded Boeing a $15.5 million contract modification for communications equipment that will be integrated on the presidential airlifters, officially designated the VC-25B, bringing the total cumulative value of the deal to just over $4.3 billion. The new work, the spokesperson said, would be accomplished “within the current program schedule,” where the first aircraft is projected to arrive “in mid-2028.”
The first new VC-25B was originally set to be delivered in 2024, meaning the fresh delivery date will be about four years late. The spokesperson did not say when the second aircraft was expected to arrive. Boeing referred a request for comment to the Air Force.
After Boeing secured a deal personally mediated by President Donald Trump for the VC-25B in 2018, the program has since become one of the aerospace giant’s most troubled efforts. Hit by COVID-19 disruptions, workforce woes and other technical challenges, the laborious process for turning 747 commercial airlines into highly militarized command centers capable of weathering a nuclear blast has driven billions of dollars in losses for Boeing due to its fixed-price contract.
After Trump voiced his displeasure earlier this year, Boeing and the Air Force worked to rescue the VC-25B program — which Breaking Defense earlier reported risked a first delivery of 2029 or even later — and accelerate its schedule. Among other changes, Boeing this year brought on a top Northrop Grumman executive to lead the flagging effort.
The Air Force for its part also considered relaxing requirements to speed up the program, floating 2027 as a potential date for first delivery. It now appears that projection is no longer feasible.
In the meantime, Trump has pointed to delays with the VC-25B as a reason to accept a luxury 747 airliner gifted by the Qatari government to serve as an interim Air Force One until the Boeing jets are ready. The Air Force has said that effort, in which L3Harris has reportedly been tapped to militarize the plane, should cost less than $400 million — a sizable sum that Air Force Secretary Troy Meink admitted was funded by moving money out of the Sentinel ICBM program.
Answering the demand signal to move faster, field sooner, iterate continuously
As threats rapidly evolve, digital engineering, manufacturing capacity and robust supply chains are critical to meeting challenges.
Meink also said the aircraft’s modifications should take less than a year after the Air Force accepted the Qatari jet. The Air Force revealed in September that conversion work had begun.
Despite the very public nature of the VC-25B contract, the work surrounding the Qatari-donated jet has remained classified, largely without further explanation. Trump has said the aircraft is a “GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE” to the Defense Department, one that he would be “stupid” to reject. Democrats and ethics groups have criticized the acceptance of the aircraft as an example of corruption.