Boeing has hit over $3 billion in losses as part of its commitment to build the next Air Force One jet, reporting a $280 million charge on the project this quarter.
Boeing’s $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force to build two presidential planes, replacing the current fleet, is years behind schedule and has run into problems under both the Biden and Trump administrations. The organization filed the charge in its second-quarter report as losses that were “primarily driven by an investment in additional production and certification resources.”
“While the charge is disappointing, we recognize how critical schedule performance is to our customer and we are investing accordingly to maintain our commitment to deliver the airplane in 2028,” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told Breaking Defense. “This shouldn’t overshadow all the meaningful progress we’re making to reduce the risk across our defense portfolio, and we are in much better shape than we were two years ago.”
President Donald Trump initially commissioned the new Air Force One fleet during his first term, with the contract given to Boeing. When it inked the deal in 2018, the company was initially supposed to complete the project in 2024. Now, the company is projecting a 2028 delivery.
The costs that exceed the $3.9 billion agreement fall to Boeing to cover.
Due to the yearslong delay in delivery, the Trump administration accepted a Boeing-made plane from Qatar to replace one of the two planes the commander in chief has been using since President George H.W. Bush was in the Oval Office. Qatar gifted the Boeing 747 to Trump, and it is valued at $400 million.
PHOTOS: TRUMP DEBUTS NEW AIR FORCE ONE PLANE FROM QATAR
Trump debuted the Qatari-gifted jet on July 1, flying the plane to North Dakota to give a speech at the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
The Qatari jet is Trump’s preferred color scheme of red, white, dark blue, and gold. The previous Air Force One fleet was a light blue color from the Kennedy administration.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
