Boeing reported a $280 million charge tied to its Air Force One replacement program during its quarterly earnings call Tuesday, bringing total cost overruns on the project to more than $3 billion.
The aerospace company is developing two specially modified Boeing 747 aircraft for presidential use. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company has allocated substantially more personnel and resources to construction and testing to "help mitigate potential risk during certification and flight test," Adding that "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."
Under a $3.9 billion contract negotiated by President Trump in 2018, Boeing bears responsibility for costs exceeding the contract price rather than the federal government.
Boeing had reported approximately $2.8 billion in cost overruns by 2024, according to Aviation Week. The company initially targeted December 2024 for the first delivery but is now roughly three years behind schedule, the Government Accountability Office reported this month. The first aircraft is now expected in mid-2028, with the second following by mid-2029.
The current presidential fleet consists of two Boeing 747-200 aircraft in service since the 1990s. A luxury $400 million Qatar-donated aircraft previously used by President Trump was removed from service earlier this month for upgrades to its anti-missile defense systems.
Air Force One aircraft require advanced communications technology and defensive capabilities to protect the president, contributing to the program's technical complexity and expense. Trump has publicly criticized Boeing repeatedly over the project's mounting costs and delays.