The Two Sort Of New Air Force One Jets Now To Cost Nearly The Price Of A Nimitz Class Carrier - New Air Force One Jets.jpg ...

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Few defense programs have gotten as much attention in recent years as the Air
Force One replacement program. This is mainly due to President Trump's
persistent claims about directly working a deal with Boeing for the aircraft
that would save huge sums of money. These assertions have repeatedly proven to
be hollow and now it is becoming clear that the program's price tag has actually
leaped considerably.

Marcus Weisgerber of Defense One has done an outstanding job on keeping on top
of the ever-morphing Air Force One replacement program. In his latest piece, he
notes that the entire program cost, which includes infrastructure projects and a
bevy on ancillary items, is now pegged at a whopping $5.3B. This is roughly a
third more than the figure the Air Force has touted in the past for the program.
But what's even more concerning is that the cost of the planes themselves and
the conversion of them into militarized VC-25Bs, now stands at $4.68B.

This is approximately $780 million more than the long-standing program cost
estimate of around $3.9B that the Air Force had routinely given out to the
public. The figure that the Air Force gave to Defense One, $5.3B, is also
curious.

In 2018, the White House said that Trump's purported deal with Boeing had shaved
approximately $1.5B off the total cost, but The War Zone and others noted that
the final price tag had not actually changed from the Air Force's previous
estimate. However, $3.9B plus $1.5B is $5.4B, which is very close to the
estimate of what the two new VC-25Bs will cost, inclusive of all necessary
related items, which can only further call into question the claim from the
Trump Administration that the program is less expensive in any way now than it
was last year.

That $4.68B figure is for just two aircraft, both of which aren't even exactly
new. They have been baking in the Mojave Desert for years. The two 747-8is were
built for the defunct Russian airline Transero, which went bankrupt in 2015.
Aeroflot bought up most its assets, but had no interest in the 747-8is. So,
Boeing flew the jets to Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville
where they have been stored in the open ever since.

After Trump took office and made the program a pet project, it was announced
that those planes would be used as the base aircraft for the future Air Force
Ones and were bought from Boeing at some incredible price that remains
undisclosed.

Although the Air Force One mission is critical, procuring two aircraft at a
price tag that approaches the cost of a Nimitz class nuclear supercarrier sure
seems concerning. On top of buying the not really new planes, critical
capabilities have been cut to save money, including the VC-25B's ability to
refuel in flight from Air Force tankers—a feature the 30-year-old VC-25As that
are to be replaced have.

Taking the lower figure for the aircraft, their conversion, and entry into
service, these planes should surpass the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber as the most
expensive aircraft ever built. In fact, according to Defense One, their combined
cost, including infrastructure projects and some other ancillary costs
associated with the program, exceeds what the Navy says a Nimitz class
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier historically costs—about $4.5B.

Even the highest estimates on the last Nimitz class carrier built give the ship
a $6.2B price tag, not even a billion more than the Air Force One replacement
program. The larger figure that Defense One puts forward, which includes
infrastructure and other projects associated with the aircraft, is also roughly
the same cost of two Virginia class nuclear fast attack submarines.

Nothing about Presidential transport is cheap, especially when it comes to
flying. These planes have to be survivable against electromagnetic pulses and
need to be equipped with the latest defensive and communications suites. Lots of
other specific pieces of hardware and systems also have to be integrated and
those systems need power and some also need cooling. It all has to work together
properly as not just the safety of the President is on the line, but also the
credibility of America's nuclear deterrent. If the President is onboard Air
Force One during a crisis, that's where he or she would order the National
Command Authority to execute a nuclear strike.

But still, we are talking about such huge sums of money here that it's all just
a little perplexing. The real program cost appears to be $5.3B at this point.
For two aircraft and the support infrastructure to sustain them. The sticker
price of a new Boeing 747-8i is roughly $400M. So, we are talking about six and
a half times the cost of the aircraft to outfit them and convert operations over
from the earlier 747 derivatives, the VC-25As. But it's not like the USAF is
starting from scratch. Far from it actually.

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At this point, the USAF's investments made to develop a VC-25B aircraft are very
unlikely to be ported over to future projects that also use the 747-8i airframe,
either. The type will likely go out of production in the coming decade. 24
747-8s are on back order, which equates to roughly four years of work. The
prospects for significantly more orders are highly questionable at best. So, by
the time the new Air Force Ones enter service, the 747 line could very well be
shutting down for good.

The USAF is looking for a common airframe to replace its C-32A, E-6B, and E-4B
aircraft, one which would almost certainly be smaller in size than a 747-8i.
This will most likely be based on the KC-46, a 767 derivative that has already
been militarized and equipped with defensive systems, secure communications, and
more. So, all the VC-25B development costs are a one-shot deal for the USAF.
It's all for just two jets. As such, using Defense One's numbers, the total
program cost spread across the two airframes is now pegged at $2.68B each and
$2.34B using the smaller figure associated just with the aircraft themselves.

It will be interesting to see how the Air Force justifies this enormous price
tag and how the costs are actually broken down. But considering how hush-hush
things are regarding Air Force One and its configuration, the public may never
get a full explanation of why these planes and their entry into service cost
nearly as much as a Nimitz class supercarrier.




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