According to the Pentagon, it would be cheaper in the long run to replace the aircraft that carries the President of the United States, and the goal is to have three new Boeing 747s to use as Air Force One by 2023.
Air Force Col. Amy McCain, whom CBS News reports is in charge of ordering the new fleet of planes, said that the current airplane used to transport the commander-in-chief was fielded in 1991, and is the only plane of its type (747-200) flying in the U.S.
Congress initially requested $102 million for the project, a number CBS reports will grow to more than $3 billion over the next five years, not including the final three years of the project.
Subscribe to 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.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 23 September 2023The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
-
Pinochet’s coup in Chile 50 years on
The Explainer Half a century on, the former leader still sharply divides opinion in his home country
-
The Week Unwrapped: Ghost tankers, loyalty cards and contempt
Podcast Should we be worried about illicit oil tankers? What are the limits to protests outside court? And are supermarket loyalty schemes all they seem?
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs say
Speed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?
Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign port
Speed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'
Speed Read
-
The US will soon finish destroying its last chemical weapons
Speed Read
-
Putin and Prigozhin offer rival explanations for Wagner's brief rebellion
Speed Read
-
The future of the Wagner Group is murky
Speed Read
-
Wagner Group stops armed rebellion toward Moscow
Speed Read
