President Donald Trump last year complained the cost of new Air Force One planes were "out of control"— so the Air Force bought two cheap Boeing 747s abandoned by a bankrupt Russian airline, Defense One reports.
According to the outlet, Air Force officials are finalizing a contract with Boeing for the two jets — and they're getting a good deal: Boeing lists the average price of a 747-8 as $386.8 million.
"We're still working toward a deal to provide two 747-8s to the Air Force — this deal is focused on providing a great value for the Air Force and the best price for the taxpayer," Boeing spokeswoman Caroline Hutcheson told Defense One.
The 747s that'll be transformed for presidential transport were originally ordered in 2013 by Transaero, which was Russia’s second-largest airline until it went belly-up, Defense One reported.
And after Boeing flight-tested the two completed jets, they put them in storage at Southern California Logistics Airport in the Mojave Desert.
After the Air Force takes ownership, contractors will give them a presidential upgrade, replete with a state-of-the-art communications system, defensive countermeasures, hardening to withstand an electromagnetic pulse caused by a nuclear explosion and a custom interior, the outlet reported.
The Pentagon’s 2018 budget request, sent to Congress in February, shows the Air Force plans to spend nearly $3.2 billion between 2018 and 2022 on two new Air Force One jets. Trump would likely fly on the new planes if he's re-elected, Defense One noted.
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