AFMC begins search for new Air Force One - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

AFMC begins search for new Air Force One

The Air Force needs new a new Air Force One — three new Air Force Ones, to be exact.

The pair of modified Boeing 747-200s now flying as the president’s airplane need to be retired starting in 2017, according to Air Force Materiel Command.

On Jan. 7, Materiel Command asked firms interested in providing the next-generation of presidential airlift to submit basic information on how they would go about designing and building the planes. The submission deadline is Jan. 29.

Materiel Command wants the first new Air Force One ready for operation in 2017, with two others to follow in 2019 and 2021. The jets will start as commercial airframes but will be extensively customized to handle the presidential staff’s security and communications needs, including the ability to refuel in flight and operate from airfields too small for most large passenger jets.

There was no mention of a projected budget in Materiel Command’s request. Each of the current 747s cost about $350 million when new. The price tag for the next generation is likely to be much higher — the presidential helicopters now in development cost around $400 million each.

Only two firms build wide-body commercial jets large enough to serve as Air Force One — Boeing Co. and the European-based Airbus. Aircraft cited as likely candidates include the Boeing 747-800 and the Airbus A380.

The Air Force is not ruling out using an overseas firm to build Air Force One. “The level of security and amount of foreign participation in this requirement has not been determined,” the request advised contractors.

The two planes flying as Air Force One — officially designated VC-25s — were purchased in 1987 and delivered in 1990. Both jets were expected to fly without major overhauls for 30 years. The Air Force considered upgrades to the jets instead of buying new planes but concluded the lack of spare parts and modification costs made it unwise to keep the 747s flying much beyond 2017.