President Trump is no longer waiting for Boeing and wants a new Air Force One quickly. To achieve that, he is having old aircraft from Qatar converted.
President Trump’s patience with Boeing over the new Air Force One is running out. As a result, the U.S. government has enlisted defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to convert a former Boeing 747 from the Qatari government into a temporary Air Force One, a source told news agency Reuters. According to The Wall Street Journal, President Trump wants the aircraft ready for use as early as this fall. L3Harris is already working as a subcontractor for Boeing on communication systems for the two planned replacement aircraft. The temporary aircraft would serve alongside the current aging Boeings. Boeing declined to comment to Reuters, and L3Harris also refused to respond.
Dissatisfied
Trump already voiced his dissatisfaction with Boeing in mid-February but ruled out the European Airbus as an alternative. Around that time, he personally inspected a twelve-year-old 747-8 near his vacation residence in Florida to better assess the potential aircraft. According to The Wall Street Journal, White House officials and military leaders even considered suing Boeing or canceling the contract for the new Air Force One aircraft—before the inauguration in January.
Trump is also said to have raised the issue of delays during his first phone call with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg last fall. Ortberg stated in February that Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and an advisor to Trump, has been actively helping them address the issues surrounding the Air Force One delivery. “Elon Musk is actually helping us a lot to clarify the requirements… so we can move faster and deliver the aircraft to the president,” Ortberg said.
In February, a senior government official told Reuters that the project might face further delays until 2029 or later, partly due to supply chain problems. Boeing is reported to have already incurred more than $2 billion (approximately €1.87 billion) in losses on the $3.9 billion (around €3.65 billion) program.