US President-elect Donald Trump wants to cancel orders for the sturdy 747 Air Force One being built by aircraft manufacturer Boeing to cut costs. He tweeted to this effect on 6 December and wrote “Cancel order!”.
Trump's aides said that his team was focused trying to save taxpayers' money and that there would be more specific details about such efforts after Trump takes office on 20 January.
White House Questions Where Trump Got His Figures From
Trump claimed that the aircraft costs the government $4 billion, a figure questioned by the White House.
The White House said on Tuesday it does not know where President-elect Donald Trump got his figure of more than $4 billion to replace the Air Force One plane that transports presidents, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Some of the statistics that have been cited, shall we say, don’t appear to reflect the nature of the financial arrangement between Boeing and the Department of DefenseJosh Earnest, Spokesman, The White House
Boeing Clarifies: New Presidential Aircraft Costs $170 Million
Boeing Co on Tuesday responded to a call by President-elect Donald Trump about the costs of a new Air Force One, saying that it currently had only a $170 million contract to determine the capabilities of the new presidential aircraft.
We look forward to working with the US Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best plane for the president at the best value for the American taxpayerTodd Blecher, Spokesperson, Boeing Company
The budgeted costs for the Air Force One replacement program are $2.87 billion for the fiscal years 2015 through 2021, according to budget documents. But the production contract has not yet been awarded to Boeing.
(With Reuters inputs)
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