The delivery of the first new Air Force One aircraft, the plane carrying the President of the United States, could now be 17 months later than originally planned, Boeing predicts.
The 17-month delay projection has not been accepted by the Air Force and could change as the military negotiates a new timetable with Boeing. The original delivery deadline of December 2024 had already been reduced.
“We continue to work closely with the Air Force on a new approved timeline,” a Boeing spokesman told CBS News.
Breaking Defense first reported the expected delay. The COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain problems have been to blame for some of the delay.
“Boeing has provided the Air Force Department with a recommended update to the VC – 25B schedule, but we have not yet agreed on the length of the delay,” an Air Force spokesman said. “The program team is analyzing the schedule before taking any contractual or formal program action.”
The Trump administration reached an informal agreement with Boeing to provide the next generation of presidential aircraft in 2018 for a fixed price of $ 3.9 billion. The informal agreement followed years of negotiations between Boeing and the Air Force, and involved Donald Trump’s personal intervention.
The current fleet consists of two specially modified Boeing 747s, first used by President George HW Bush in 1990. Both aircraft have carried all the presidents since then.
– CBS News’ Kathryn Krupnik and Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.
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