For more than three decades, Air Force One, with its blue and white colors, has been the President’s not only a very reliable but also a visually impressive and aesthetically appealing symbol of the power of the United States in the sky. Nevertheless, it turns out that the Boeing 747-200Bs of the models, hence the VC-25A, are just such planes that were constructed back in the 1990s. It is quite a challenging procedure to maintain those planes in good working condition. There are very few aircraft parts for the repairs, and the planes with analog cockpits are already of the old model, plus the cost of the maintenance is going up every year. The matter of replacing them is no longer a question of whether but a question of when.
First of all, it is not just an overhaul that transforms a commercial airliner into Air Force One. It is the complete redesign of the plane from scratch, making it a mobile White House that has the capability of surviving a war, a catastrophe, or even a nuclear explosion. The aircraft must be protected against an electromagnetic pulse, installed with the most advanced defensive systems, and supplied with secure command and control networks.
Encrypted communications, hospitals, and the potential to keep the president connected to the chain of command at all times are not negotiable. As industry experts observe, every capability the president has on the ground will also need to be available in the air.
But creating the new Air Force One has proven far more difficult—and expensive—than organizers had hoped. In 2018, Boeing signed a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract in an effort to keep the expense in check and move the project forward quickly. But the gamble went bad.
Engineering problems spread, labor instability stalled progress, and costs with suppliers ballooned. Boeing has since taken more than a billion dollars in losses on each plane, with overall overruns coming in at more than $2 billion. The pandemic only made things more difficult, disrupting supply chains and forcing out timelines.
The workforce itself has proven to be an issue. At San Antonio, where the aircraft are being refurbished, Boeing has struggled to recruit and retain enough skilled mechanics. Project workers must endure “Yankee White” security clearances, a process that has squeezed hiring. Government critics have documented ongoing issues from wiring delays to stress-crack fixes, underscoring the program’s sheer scale. Boeing has shaken up management in response, in hopes of bringing stability to the program.
Out of desperation, a bizarre idea briefly surfaced. One of the opulent Boeing 747-8s, formerly gifted to former President Donald Trump by the Qatari royal family, was proposed as an interim Air Force One. The idea was universally panned.
That would entail gutting the jet down to the bones to make sure it had no clandestine monitoring devices or viruses, and filling it with the same secure systems as the official Air Force. The price tag, experts estimated, would be over a billion dollars, and might take years—longer than if they stick to the original scheme.
Not only has the process been delayed by the usual bureaucratic red tape, but design decisions have also contributed to the delays. After technical tests revealed that the dark blue in the red, white, and blue color scheme favored by Trump would absorb heat and potentially harm the sensitive electronics, his color scheme was scrapped. Eventually, President Joe Biden gave his consent for a fresh and modern interpretation of the traditional Kennedy-era colors, maintaining the characteristic blue-and-white color scheme but employing a cleaner, more current design.
Today, the initial of the new VC-25B aircraft should be delivered in 2027, and then the second one in 2028. Others claim the timeline is unrealistic and that delays will push final delivery into the mid-2030s. Even the Air Force has relaxed some requirements already to speed things up, but the challenges remain significant.
The long and contentious journey to replace Air Force One is not a story about airplanes alone. It is a story about the crossing of politics, security, and the grim realities of defense contracting. Even for the President of the United States, having a new plane built is not as easy as it seems.