Air Force One Replacement Delayed, Trump Seeks Interim Solution

Since his first term in office, Donald Trump has been fixated on replacing the current Air Force One fleet. However, due to delays with the contracted manufacturer, Boeing, the delivery of the new planes has been pushed back by another decade. As a result, Trump’s frustration is growing, and he has now commissioned an interim plane from another contractor, in addition to the existing multi-billion dollar contract with Boeing.

In 2018, Trump awarded Boeing, the long-time supplier of presidential planes, a $3.9 billion contract to replace the current Air Force One fleet. The current fleet consists of two modified Boeing 747-200s (VC-25A), which are over 35 years old. Boeing has failed to meet its original deadline of December 2024 for the first aircraft due to various issues, including supply chain problems, design complications, and workforce challenges.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Boeing informed federal officials around the time of the election that they would not be able to deliver the new planes until around 2035. In response, Trump has taken matters into his own hands and commissioned L3Harris, a Florida-based defense contractor, to modify a plane previously used by the Qatari government. Interestingly, the interim jet is also a Boeing 747.

This is reportedly the same plane that Trump inspected in February, in a public display of dissatisfaction with Boeing. At the time, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung stated that the tour was intended to “highlight the project’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time.” Trump also expressed his discontent, saying, “No, I’m not happy with Boeing… We may do something else. We may go buy a plane.”

Trump has reportedly instructed L3Harris to make the interim plane available as early as this fall. However, Air Force One is a highly specialized aircraft, equipped with advanced navigation systems, encryption capabilities, defensive countermeasures, and other unique features. It is unlikely that L3Harris can provide an equivalent plane in such a short timeframe. Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s acquisitions chief under the Biden administration, noted, “You could do some paint, you could do some communications upgrades, and I suspect it would be hard to do too much beyond that on that timeline.”

Years before Trump took office, the Air Force had selected the Boeing 747-8 as the next presidential plane. Under the existing contract, Boeing is supposed to supply two 747-8s. Senior officials had reportedly considered canceling Boeing’s contract before Trump’s inauguration, and there have been discussions about a potential lawsuit.

Instead of pursuing legal action, Trump took a different approach. Shortly after his election, he enlisted the help of Elon Musk to pressure Boeing into speeding up the delivery process. In February, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg stated that Musk was helping to remove constraints and accelerate the delivery timeline. However, Musk also proposed questionable measures, such as lowering security clearances for workers, which is not ideal for a presidential plane.

The cost of Trump’s second-hand plane is currently unknown, but Boeing is already billions of dollars over budget. Nevertheless, extravagant displays are a hallmark of Trump’s presidency, and this interim solution may be seen as a way for him to assert his influence. Perhaps this time, Trump will even get to choose the paint color.