Boeing’s Air Force One Program Hits Delays Due to Lack of Parts

A senior administration official said the Air Force One program may be delayed until 2029 or years later because of supply chain issues and changing requirements after the White House highlighted delays in the project.

According to the official, Boeing faced problems getting components since some manufacturers had gone out of business. In addition, some requirements for the aircraft had also changed based on evolving potential threats.

Boeing has had six years of production problems, safety issues, delivery delays, and unhappy buyers of its aircraft since the two fatal crashes of its 737 jets. When President Donald Trump recently expressed anger at the delays for the next generation of Air Force One jets, it could make a huge blow to what remains of the company’s prestige and finances going forward.

The two VC-25Bs of the program are being converted from 747-8i airliners to replace the two existing VC-25As, the first of which entered service in 1990. As the VC-25As are based on older 747-200s, these planes are increasingly challenging to support.

The 747-8i was the final airliner variant of Boeing’s 747 aircraft and their production came to an end for good in 2022. It can be seen that the new Air Force One presidential jets, which have to be converted from existing, second-hand airframes, have a lot of problems.

In addition to supply chain problems that slowed the renovation process, Boeing also had a shortage of workers with the needed security clearance to work on the plane during the pandemic. Workers need security clearance equivalent to those who work at the White House.

One of the alternative options Trump might be looking at involves relaxing security clearance standards for some who work on the presidential planes. As such, Boeing could employ workers for the VC-25B that don’t have the currently required high-level Yankee White security clearance. However, this is only for employees not involved in the most secure parts.

Boeing has recorded more than $2 billion in losses on the program because the contract was negotiated on a fixed-price basis. The new Air Force One program will cost around $4.7 billion for the jets alone, making them the most expensive aircraft ever built.

Photo by Etienne Jong on Unsplash