Boeing and the U.S. Air Force now expect delivery of the next Air Force One in mid-2028, a delay from the previous official schedule but earlier than the most recent expectation.
The new date comes as the service has awarded another $15.5 million for the program, bringing the total contract amount to $4.3 billion. The new contract covers an expansion of communication capabilities for both of the VC-25Bs.
“These costs are associated with integration of new communications capability that allows VC-25B to keep pace with mission requirements that have evolved since the program baseline was established,” an Air Force spokesperson told Aviation Week in a statement. “This modification can be accomplished within the current program schedule with the projected delivery date for the first VC-25B aircraft in mid-2028.”
Boeing and the Air Force had been working to set a revised schedule for the VC-25B amid extensive delays in recent years. The most recent delivery expectation for current requirements was 2029, though
Boeing had told the Air Force it could hand a jet over as early as 2027.
Boeing has been under pressure from the Trump administration to improve its schedule for the VC-25B, most notably as President Donald Trump had accepted the donation of a 747-8 from the government of Qatar to be used as a separate presidential transport by the end of his term. The details of that program are classified, though it is believed that L3Harris has been awarded the work. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said over the summer that the service has used funding from the delayed Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel program to pay for the conversion of the donated aircraft.
While details surrounding the Qatari gifted aircraft are classified,
Boeing’s VC-25B is not. Delays had been growing with the program amid issues such as
Boeing having trouble finding enough cleared workers, a supplier going bankrupt, structural issues on the airframes and parts shortages. Aviation Week reported in March that the Air Force allowed
Boeing to reduce the security requirements on the program to speed up hiring. It is not yet clear what other changes have been made as part of the new schedule.
Meink said in September he had seen improvement on the VC-25B effort as the other aircraft had also progressed.
“What I’d say on both aircraft—and I’ve had an opportunity to work with the contracts closely over the last couple months—I think they’re on schedule,” he says.
Following the original contract award in 2018, the program had been rebaselined in 2022 with a planned initial operational capability in 2027.
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