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Air Force One Successor Unveiled

USA1

The Air Force One |Boeing 747-200 |The current US Presidential Aircraft

#AirForceOne

The service life of the two incumbent Boeing 747-200 will be coming to an end in 2017,Air Force officials announced.In a press release by the US Department of Defense,the secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James,in a determination arrived at in coordination with Frank Kendall,secretary of defense for acquisition,defense and logistics revealed that Boeing 747-8 will be taking over as the next presidential aircraft.

Describing the presidential aircraft as one of the most visible symbols of the United States of America and the office of the president of the United States of America,James said,”The Boeing 747-8 is the only aircraft manufactured in the United States (that), when fully missionized, meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission, while reflecting the office of the president of the United States of America consistent with the national public interest.”

Air Force One Mission

747-8 First Flight Everett WA

Boeing 747-8 |The incoming Air Force One Replacement

In order to reach at the findings,a market research was conducted to determine would meet the demand of the Air Force One mission which were identified as a four-engine and wide-body aircraft.The research determined that there were only two such aircraft that could meet the requirement;the 747-8 manufactured by Boeing in the state of Washington, and the A380 manufactured by Airbus in Toulouse, France.The decision would to pick Boeing 747-8 allows discussions with Boeing that will likely lead to a contract for the aircraft platform as well as the modifications necessary to missionize the aircraft.

Acquisition Strategy

However, Col. Amy McCain, the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program manager indicated that the decision was not an actual award of the contract.McCain said,”We still need to finalize the overall acquisition strategy and conduct risk-reduction activities with Boeing to inform the engineering and manufacturing development contract negotiations that will define the capabilities and cost.”While keen on keeping the cost down,the Air Force wants to own enough of the technical baseline to permit competition for a sustained 30-year life cycle.“We are committed to incorporating competition for sub-systems of the missionized aircraft as much as practicable, and will participate substantively in any competitions led by the prime contractor,” James further added.

Affordability is Key

While observing that the current fleet of VC-25 presidential aircraft has performed exceptionally well,James noted that parts obsolescence, diminishing manufacturing sources and increased down times for maintenance are existing challenges.”The Air Force provides the president with safe and reliable air transportation with high levels of security and communication capability as the alternate airborne White House,”she said. James indicated that the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization(PAR) program will use multiple strategies, such as the use of proven technologies and commercially certified equipment, to ensure the program is as affordable as possible saying that the Air Force will insist upon program affordability through cost conscious procurement practices. A sum of $1.65 billion between 2015 and 2019 has been set aside by the Air Force for two replacement jets.

Story by Jeremiah Wakaya

Senior Editor

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