U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressed his concerned and urged the government on Tuesday to cancel an order with Boeing Co for a revamped Air Force One
According to Trump, the cost was too high. Trump expressed his concern through his podium, Twitter messages, to rattle companies and foreign countries as he seeks to shake up business as usual in Washington.
“Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Trump said on Twitter.
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
“The plane is totally out of control. I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money but not that much money,” he told reporters.
Boeing, which has built planes for U.S. presidents since 1943, has not yet begun building the two replacements for the current Air Force One planes, which are scheduled to be in service by 2024.
“We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the President of the United States,” the company said in a statement.
The Air Force, which operates the presidential planes, announced in January 2015 that Boeing’s 747-8 would be used to replace the two current presidential planes.
The planes can fly direct from Washington to Hong Kong, 1,000 miles (1,600 km) farther than the current Air Force One. They are designed to be an airborne White House able to fly in worst-case security scenarios, such as nuclear war.
President Barack Obama, who flew on the aging Air Force One to Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, has called the plane one of the best perks of the presidency.
His spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters on board that the contracting arrangements for replacements were “rather complicated” and said the recommendations for upgrades had been made by national security experts.
The budgeted costs for the replacement program are $2.87 billion for the fiscal years 2015 through 2021, just on research and development, testing and evaluation, according to budget documents seen by Reuters.
The current Air Force plan envisions extensive modifications to a Boeing 747-8 plane, adding military avionics and advanced communications to a self-defense system.
“Of course it’s not like buying a vanilla Boeing jumbo jet,” said defense consultant Loren Thompson, who has close ties to Boeing and other companies.