Boeing is projected to deliver its new Air Force One presidential aircraft in 2027, three years behind the schedule negotiated during President Donald Trump’s first term, a top U.S. Air Force official said on Wednesday.
Darlene Costello, the air force’s acting acquisition chief, testified before the House Armed Services Committee that Boeing’s proposed 2027 delivery date would ultimately depend on whether the White House and the air force were willing to compromise on certain design and capability requirements.
“We are looking at the requirements that are being potentially traded off to get to that date,” Costello said at the hearing.
“I would not necessarily guarantee that date, but they are proposing to bring it into ‘27. If we can come to an agreement on the requirement changes that get us to that point, that may be possible.”
In 2018, Trump awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion contract to convert two new 747-8s into next-generation presidential planes, proposing a red-white-and-blue paint scheme in place of the iconic baby blue livery used since the Kennedy era.
The upgraded aircraft will be equipped with hardened communications systems, advanced avionics, and self-defense capabilities. They are meant to function as an airborne White House, capable of withstanding extreme security threats, including nuclear attack.
Under the original plan, Boeing was expected to deliver the planes in 2024. Since then, however, the project has suffered multiple setbacks, including cost overruns, supply chain disruptions, and labor constraints.
The total program cost is now estimated to exceed $5 billion. The fixed-price contract means that Boeing has to absorb any excess costs, and the company has already reported a $2 billion loss on the project.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Costello said Boeing submitted the latest integrated delivery schedule last winter. She called it an improvement because earlier internal estimates forecast the finish date would have stretched into 2028 or 2029.
“Our program team is working very closely with the White House to look at every single requirement and how it’s being derived into the design and what it’s introducing,” she told the lawmakers, noting that government has temporarily lifted some security requirements at the company’s production facility for more efficient assembly and staffing.
“We’re down to a few remaining issues that we have to work through, and we will hope to close that in the very near future,” she said.
In February, Trump toured a Boeing 747 formerly owned by the royal family of Qatar, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“I’m not happy with Boeing. It takes them a long time to do Air Force One,” Trump said earlier that month. “We gave that contract out a long time ago as a fixed-price contract, and I’m not happy with the fact that it’s taking so long, and we may do something else. We may go and buy a plane or get a plane or something.”
“I could buy one from another country, perhaps, or get one from another country,” he added.
The current Air Force Ones, a pair of 747-200s, have been in service since the George H.W. Bush administration and require heavy maintenance.
The Air Force One delays are emblematic of broader challenges at Boeing, including persistent issues with its 737 Max line and most recently, repeated launch delays of its Starliner spacecraft due to a range of technical issues, leaving two astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station for nine months.
