Donald Trump's desire to drive down the cost of a new fleet of Air Force One jets could have unexpected consequences: the replacement aircraft may have once been destined for a Russian airline.
According to reports, the US Air Force have been looking for a cheaper option after Trump complained that costs had got "out of control".
A source told AFP they are now close a deal to buy two Boeing 747s originally ordered by Transaero Airlines, says The Guardian.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Defense One reports the planes were abandoned by the Russian airline when it went bankrupt in 2015 and are sitting in the Mojave Desert in southern California. A final deal could be announced by the Pentagon this week.
The average price of the Boeing 747-8 on which the US Air Force will base the presidential plane is $386.8m (£292.3m). It is not known how much the Russian cast-offs would cost.
To prepare the aircraft for Trump and his successors, engineers will add "state-of-the-art communications system, defensive countermeasures and hardening to withstand an electromagnetic pulse caused by a nuclear explosion", Defense One says.
According to The Hill, officials plan to spend $3.2bn (£2.4bn) on the makeover.
The current Air Force One jets have served presidents since George HW Bush in 1990. However, if Trump wishes to fly in the new fleet, he will have to win a second term - the aircraft aren't due to enter service until 2022.
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sitesIn The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s voidFeature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
Venezuela: Was Trump’s air strike legal?Feature A Trump-ordered airstrike targeted a speedboat off the coast of Venezuela, killing all 11 passengers on board
-
3 killed in Trump’s second Venezuelan boat strikeSpeed Read Legal experts said Trump had no authority to order extrajudicial executions of noncombatants
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spinsSpeed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meetingSpeed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
