Because aerospace giant Boeing no longer manufactures the 747, additional parts will be needed over time to keep the main Air Force One flying.
The United States Air Force announced last week that it would acquire two Boeing 747-8i aircraft from Germany’s Lufthansa to support its presidential airlift program.
Reuters first reported that the Air Force will spend around $400 million to purchase the wide-body jets for training and as a source of spare parts for two other 747-8Is that are being modified to serve as the future Air Force One. The first of the former Lufthansa 747-8s will be delivered in early 2026, with the second arriving in the United States by the end of the year.
The news of this planned purchase comes as Boeing acknowledged that its program to convert two 747-8s into presidential aircraft is now running late and, unsurprisingly, over budget. The two VC-25Bs, the military version of the 747, are being modified at Boeing’s facility in San Antonio, Texas. Those two aircraft were originally intended for the Russian airline Transaero, but were not delivered following its bankruptcy in 2015.
A year later, the US Air Force purchased the airframes at a reduced price because they were newly built but not yet delivered. The two VC-25B aircraft will eventually replace the current VC-25A fleet, which faces capability gaps, rising maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence.
Boeing Is No Longer Building New 747s
The iconic “Jumbo Jet” was first introduced into commercial service with Pam Am on January 22, 1979, becoming the first wide-body jet airliner. It helped usher in a new era of long-haul international travel. Still, it wasn’t until 1990 that the 747, a modified Boeing VC-25A (tail number 28000), was delivered during President George H.W. Bush’s administration, replacing the older 707. A second aircraft, tail number 29000, joined soon after.
Each of the current aircraft that serve as Air Force One is based on the 747-200 variant, which means that when retired, very few of the parts can be used with the modern 747-8i models.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Boeing no longer produces the 747 in any version. The final aircraft of the class, a 747-8 freighter (747-8F), was delivered to Atlas Air in early 2023, ending more than 50 years of production of the iconic “Queen of the Skies,” as the wide-body aircraft was known.
In other words, even as the US Air Force has yet to receive the two aircraft that will carry the president for decades to come, parts may no longer be produced.
“Given the 747-8i is no longer in active production, and is a very different aircraft than the 747-200, it is important for the Air Force to establish an overall training and sustainment strategy for the future Air Force 747-8i fleet,” the US Air Force said in a statement to Flying magazine.
Trump Is Preparing Another 747—for Himself Only
As a result of the delays in converting the two VC-25Bs, President Donald Trump has accepted a donated 747-800 from Qatar. That aircraft is also being refitted at taxpayer expense. However, unlike the other aircraft, it is currently on track to leave Washington at the end of Trump’s term and be transferred to the future Trump Library.
The legality and ethics of accepting the aircraft have been questioned, as has the issue of security. As it stands, however, the donated jet may be the only one of the 747s to be completed before Trump leaves office.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / Chris Allan.
