【Dead Again】

President-elect Donald Trump said on Dead AgainTuesday that he thinks the Air Force should end procurement of the next version of Air Force One, which is based on Boeing's latest version of the iconic Boeing 747, because it's too pricey.

Doing this would be, shall we say, very bad. Sad even!

Not only is that interpretation wrong, there are two great, if interrelated, reasons for keeping the procurement open: We need a new plane. And jobs.

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Do we need a new Air Force One?

The answer is unequivocally yes, since the current version of Air Force One is getting old, having entered service in 1990, during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. The age is showing, with higher costs to operate the plane (about $200,000 per hour, according to CNN), and the necessity of fuel stops on long trips, such as Washington to Tokyo. According to Boeing, such stops would not be needed if the new 747 were used.

By the time they are retired the planes could be 35-years-old, which is downright elderly in plane years. Also, as aircraft age, they require more maintenance, which is expensive considering that spare parts are getting harder to find for a type of plane (747-200) that almost no other airline still uses. Already, the Air Force is having to scavenge for spare parts for President Obama's Air Force One from 747-200 aircraft mothballed in the desert, according to Defense One.

The new planes will be packed with more modern technology for video conferencing, plus the ability to refuel in midair and travel longer distances. In recent years, they have also been outfitted with equipment to deter surface-to-air missile attacks.

Stretching the truth

Trump announced his views in a tweet on Tuesday morning, and subsequently discussed his views with the press as well.

"Well the plane is totally out of control. It's going to be over $4 billion for [the] Air Force One program," he said, according to news reports. "And 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."

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As is the case with many of Trump's tweets, this one about the plane's cost wasn't exactly on target. The Air Force has not yet ordered the planes, so there are no cost overruns yet.

According to a statement from Boeing, the company only has a $170 million contract to work on requirements for the new planes.

"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," spokesman Todd Blecher said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the President at the best value for the American taxpayer."

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So far the Air Force has allocated less than $3 billion through 2021 for two new aircraft to serve as Air Force One and a backup plane, with the expectation that they would enter service in 2022.

The reason for this long time to service is because the planes will require so much work to stuff it with loads of top secret communications gear that will keep the president in touch with military commanders around the world, among others.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The current version of Air Force One has the following features that you won't find on a typical 747, including:

• 4,000 square feet of interior floor space.

• Conference/dining room.

• Quarters for the president and the first lady.

• An office area for senior staff members.

• Another office that converts into a medical facility when necessary.

• Work and rest areas for the presidential staff, media. representatives and Air Force crews

• Two galleys that can provide 100 meals at one sitting.

• Multi-frequency radios for air-to-air, air-to-ground and satellite communications.

• Self-contained baggage loader; and front and aft air-stairs.

Turning a standard plane into a flying fortress is no easy feat, which brings us to the other main reason that President-elect Trump shouldn't cancel the procurement program.

Job losses

Last week, Trump intervened to keep Carrier from moving jobs to Mexico. He enticed the company to keep many (but not all) of the jobs in the U.S. through a variety of financial incentives, but seems unconcerned about job losses at Boeing, which is America’s largest exporter.

The fact is that given market conditions, Boeing would not continue making the Boeing 747-800 for much longer because high fuel prices mean airlines are finding its other, twin-engine aircraft more attractive buys. Buying the new Air Force Ones from Boeing ensures that possibly as many as several hundred jobs will be retained in this country in order to work on the planes over several years, as well as keeping the production line open in the meantime.

Stopping the process from moving forward now would mean losing hundreds of jobs associated with 747 production in Washington state and other areas of the U.S., including defense contractors planning to help transform the ordinary plane into the most specialized plane in the world.

After all, the plane has to be hardened against electromagnetic blasts from nuclear explosions, modified to keep the president in touch with military commanders and the American people from anywhere the plane goes as well as outfitted to allow the plane to refuel midair. Not your standard production modifications.

From Boeing's perspective, having Air Force One be a Boeing product is the best advertisement the company could possibly hope for. Boeing has provided a plane used as Air Force One for every president dating back to Franklin Roosevelt.

But the company is not likely to keep a money-losing production line open in the absence of a government contract.

Perhaps Trump assumes that future presidents will also have their own fleet of private jets, like he does?

Even so, it's not likely the government will allow any president, be it Trump or his successor, to fly on an aircraft like Trump's Boeing 757, which lacks the special capabilities that the Air Force's transports have (any Air Force plane the president flies on is known by the callsign of Air Force One).

Via Giphy

The Air Force does not expect these new planes to go into service until the year 2023, after Trump leaves office, according to the Wall Street Journal.

There is precedent for cost overruns on presidential transport to doom a project, however. When President Obama came into office, he cited high cost overruns in his decision to cancel plans to buy new versions of the Marine One helicopter.

A new round of bids were solicited, and the first of the new fleet of presidential aircraft are due to be delivered in 2020, about a decade after they were initially supposed to enter service.

In that case, there really were cost overruns. With the new Air Force One, let’s at least allow the process to move forward until any overruns occur, and deal with them then.

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