It may have been a gift, but retrofitting a Qatari luxury Boeing 747 jet to become the new Air Force One is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Air Force Secretary Troy Meink on Thursday, June 5. The price reveal came during a U.S. Congressional hearing and after the Pentagon accepted the gift from Qatar to eventually fly President Donald Trump to destinations around the world.
What does Air Force One need?
Military experts say equipping the 13-year-old jetliner with the necessary upgrades to security, communications to prevent spies from eavesdropping on the conversations, along with anti-missile systems to fight off would-be attacks, will be an expensive undertaking.
While Meink didn’t disclose the specifics of the costs, he told lawmakers that the cost to upgrade the jet is “probably less than $400 million.”
Cost dispute
Democrats have argued that the actual cost could soar to more than $1 billion.
“I think there has been a number thrown around, on the order of a billion dollars, but a lot of those costs associated with that are costs that we would’ve experienced anyway,” Meink said.
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., pressed Meink further on the specific efforts that needed to be taken to retrofit the plane, but Meink did not elaborate on the undertaking.
Courtney argued that “it’s clear this new aircraft is going to cost well over $1 billion.” Courtney cited the cost to build out a pair of Air Force One jets as part of a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 as evidence.
“You can’t retrofit a plane that’s built for another purpose for Air Force One and expect it to be a free plane,” Courtney said. “You’ve got to install encrypted communications technology, you have to harden the defenses, you have to put countermeasures in there… It’s a flying situation room.”
“It’s clear that this is going to be a drain on the Air Force’s budget,” Courtney continued.
An Air Force official’s assessment
Politico reported a former Air Force official familiar with “the presidential aircraft program,” who wished to remain anonymous, believes costs to strip down and install new features in the aircraft could soar to into the billions and doubts the effort can be finished in “a few months or even a year.”
Meink acknowledged that the military would need to perform a “deep sweep” of the aircraft to ensure there are no threats to national security on the jet. However, he promised the Air Force would do “whatever we can” to push the schedule forward to ensure it is ready for Trump.
Criticism
Trump faced criticism for accepting the $400 million luxury jet as a gift, but argued that it saves taxpayers money and that he will donate it to a future presidential library after his time as president. He said it would be similar to the Boeing 707 used by former President Ronald Reagan, which was decommissioned and placed in a museum.
Republicans and Democrats raised ethical and national security concerns. Critics of the move say it’s unconstitutional, citing laws against the president accepting expensive gifts without congressional approval.
Trump’s response
Trump, however, said refusing the gift would have been “stupid” and argued it was “free.”
The president also expressed frustration with delays to Boeing’s revamping of a pair of 747 planes to serve as Air Force One. The planes are not set to be ready until the end of Trump’s term.
