![]() Boeing originally selected Texas-based GDC Technics to supply the interiors, but the relationship broke down in a legal dispute that led to the supplier’s bankruptcy in 2021. The service also tried to save costs on the program by acquiring two white-tail 747-8Is built for Russian carrier Trans-aero, which went bankrupt shortly before a scheduled delivery in 2015.ĭespite those efforts, the VC-25B development and modification program is nearly $2 billion over budget and 17 months behind schedule. In an attempt to save costs, the Air Force deleted a requirement for inflight refueling, so although they are expected to be significantly more fuel-efficient the CF6-80C2-powered VC-25As, the presidential airlift replacements will need to land to refuel much sooner on certain missions. No operational changes are expected from the VC-25A, so the VC-25B will need a special navigator station in the cockpit, which enables the aircraft to be guided even if ground-based navigation aids were destroyed during a nuclear war. The VC-25Bs will not require local infrastructure, allowing the passengers and crew to board and exit the aircraft independently. Boeing also is adding a mission communications system, an undisclosed self-defense system and military-hardened avionics. ![]() Major modifications for the presidential mission start with an electrical power upgrade, including the addition of a second auxiliary power unit-both units could be activated during flight. Under a $4.9 billion program, excluding nearly $1.94 billion in cost overruns absorbed on Boeing’s balance sheet, the Air Force is converting the passenger jets into VVIP aircraft that also could serve as airborne military command centers during a war. Outwardly, the VC-25B is to resemble the 747-8I passenger model of the GEnx-2B-powered Boeing widebody, but many of the internal systems and structures should be unrecognizable. The last two 747-200s that rolled off the assembly line in Everett, Washington, became VC-25As, which are now due for replacement 30 years later. An Air Force order for 737-derived T-43s in 1972 rescued the then-struggling narrowbody from potential cancellation, keeping deliveries flowing until a fresh batch of orders arrived in 1974, mainly from African carriers.Īn Air Force order for 179 Boeing 767-based KC-46s in 2011 has cost the company $6.5 billion so far in contract overruns, but the tanker program has kept the production line healthy in time for an influx of 767 Freighter orders over the last five years.īy contrast, the presidential airlift fleet, which uses the call sign “Air Force One” when the commander-in-chief is on board, is a mark of corporate prestige for Boeing. Boeing derived the commercial 707 from the slightly narrower cross-section of the Air Force’s KC-135 tanker. ![]() military has a long tradition of launching and sustaining derivatives of Boeing commercial aircraft, and the latest version of the 747-8 is no exception. E-4B replacement is scheduled to start in 2029 but likely with used aircraft. ![]()
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