The Air Force One program may be further delayed until 2029 or years later, a senior administration official said, citing supply chain issues and changing requirements, after the White House highlighted delays in the project over the weekend.
The delays are frustrating, but not much can be done to speed delivery, the official told Reuters, noting that Boeing faced problems getting components since some manufacturers had gone out of business. Some requirements for the aircraft had also changed, given evolving potential threats, the official said.
Breaking Defense in December reported that the presidential aircraft program faced new delays that could push delivery of the first jet to 2029 or later.
Asked about the report, the administration official acknowledged the fresh delays and the delay could stretch “years beyond” 2029.
President Donald Trump has been deeply engaged with the program since his 2016 presidential campaign, extracting a promise from then-Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to cap the program’s cost at $4 billion. Those fixed-price contract terms, questioned by analysts at the time and finalized in 2018, have cost Boeing over $2 billion so far.
Trump’s renewed engagement could signal further problems for Boeing, whose current CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company was meeting with Trump’s billionaire cost-cutting ally Elon Musk to get the plane updated quicker, analysts said. More here
