Problems in supplies and specialized labor, delivery times are stretched. Meanwhile, a “747 VIP” of Qatar is recovered which will be adapted as an presidential plane.
The Boeing aerospace giant has declared to the USAF that it will be able to deliver the new Air Force One Jets by 2027 only if the armed force agrees to loosen some requirements. This was reported by several US aerospace newspapers citing an “internal” source to the company. The delivery of the VC-25B aircraft was originally scheduled for 2024, but the delays made the delivery projections to 2028 and 2029 slip, provoking the public indignation of President Donald Trump.
Last Wednesday Darlene Costello, interim manager of the acquisition of the US Air Force, During an audition of the subcommittee for the maritime power and the projection forces of the Armed Forces of the Chamber said: “We are evaluating the requirements that could be the subject of change to be able to deliver the first aircraft as soon as possible, so I would not necessarily guarantee the expected date, however we are proposing to anticipate it at 2027. If we manage to reach an agreement on the necessary changes that will be able to do it at that point”. The manager warned that some of the modifications proposed by Boeing may not be implemented, colliding with the White House to decide which changes can be acceptable from the point of view of the performance of these aircraft.
Like all commercial aviation, the supply of the Air Force One also suffers from some delays caused by problems with suppliers which carry out the interiors since the changes of the equipment involve a redesign of the wiring and the recalculation of the on -board electrical system. According to Costello, another limitation is caused by the lack of specialized workforce, which Boeing must use on the orders of the commercial sector. It also seems that some procedures have been limited precisely to help Boeing proceed more quickly. “We have also loosened some security requirements for the production plant for a certain period” said the manager, “it will not be a permanent ease, but this has allowed Boeing to be more efficient and productive in the assembly of the aircraft and the custody of the work to their mechanics”.
It is not known whether these changes have somehow suggested by Elon Musk, who would be collaborating as a councilor of Trump to accelerate the delivery of the new jets. Frustrated by Boeing delays, Trump would have commissioned the L3harris company to modify a Boeing 747 specimen in variant -8, once owned by the Qatar royal family, to be used in the meantime to replace the obsolete “VC-25”-old 34 years-now used as Air Force One (VC-25 is the military abbreviation of the B747 so configured). According to what reported by the Wall Street Journal last May 1st, the Arabic jet, worth 400 million dollars, once modified could be ready for presidential use already next autumn.
However, there is a question that the democratic politicians are not escaping: It would not yet be clear what funds the United States are using for the modification of the Qatari Jet and how this move could affect the current contract with Boeing stipulated during the first term of the Tycoon. This had a value of 3.9 billion dollars and planned to convert two specimens of B-747 into VIP configuration and to equip it with the necessary communication and protection equipment.
However, the latter are partially already present in the example of the Qatarius, which would therefore be faster to modify and prepare. The contract made by Trump six years ago, however, had been approved by providing for a “fixed price” and caused Boeing losses for over 2.4 billion dollars. According to what ABC reported, the prosecutor General Pam Bondi would have authorized the transaction between Qatar and the USA, concluding that he will not violate a constitutional principle according to which no government official can accept gifts from “no king, prince or foreign state”.
