In another somewhat predictable blow to the new Air Force One, Boeing now predicts that the aircraft faces a 17-month delay, mainly due to the pandemic and supply chain shortages. While the Air Force is yet to officially accept this sliding timeline, it's safe to say that the plane won't be flying before 2025 at the earliest. Here's the latest on the situation involving the upcoming flagship presidential jet...
According to Breaking Defense, Boeing has projected that the first delivery for the new Air Force One, VC-25B, will be 17 months behind schedule.
This news adds an additional five months to last year's delay news.
The sliding schedule has been caused by several factors. However, the main reasoning is to do with COVID-19 and resulting issues regarding supply chain crunches around the world.
Boeing also points to the bankruptcy of contractor GDC Technics, which was set to provide the interiors for the modified Boeing 747-8. However, the San Antonio firm saw its contract canceled by the planemaker due to delays. This also later led to a spiral of security claims- a topic we covered in our January Air Force One update on our long haul channel.
It is important to note that the US Air Force is yet to accept Boeing's new timeframe for delivering VC-25B and plans to sit down with the planemaker to finalize a new schedule for the critical aircraft. While the finalization will take a month or two, this is likely to prevent further delays to the project, which has been in the works for years now. It's notable that Boeing will bear the cost of all delays under the $3.9 billion fixed-price deal signed under the Trump administration in 2018.
However, the Air Force is hoping to get the new planes into service as soon as possible, replacing the pair of VC-25As, which was introduced over 32 years ago under President George HW Bush.
Details about the new Air Force One are understandably shrouded in secrecy due to security concerns. However, we do know that these jets are modified Boeing 747-8s- originally built for, (but never delivered to) now-defunct Russian airline Transaero.
While usually the planes are custom-built, requests from former President Trump to reduce costs meant Boeing chose to use the existing planes for retrofit, saving roughly $1 billion (which may not last due to overruns).
Naturally, the modified 747-8 will have state-of-the-art defense systems, which will certainly include anti-missile countermeasures. Inside, we can expect a fresh cabin for the President to handle the country's affairs from the sky and rest on long journeys. This includes a communication system to address the nation in times of crisis.
