Fed up with foot-dragging from an American company, President Donald Trump is looking overseas to fulfill his dream of a newer, sleeker and safer Air Force One.
The White House has tasked Florida-based L3Harris, of Melbourne, Fla., to trick out a Boeing 747 formerly used by the Qatari government to bolster the aging fleet of official presidential jets, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Seattle-based Boeing, which had the original contract, will continue working on a pair of Air Force One replacement jets. The company had fallen so far behind schedule that Trump might not get to fly them before he leaves office, the newspaper reported.
According to the Journal, L3Harris has to retrofit the luxury plane with the specialized systems that will transform it into a presidential jet.
The White House wants to have the jet, which is known as Air Force One when the president is aboard, for use as early as this fall, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the work.
Trump has repeatedly pressed Boeing for updates. The company’s CEO met with Trump in the Oval Office as recently as April 18, the Journal reported, citing those same people.
The White House, Boeing and L3Harris declined the Journal’s requests for comment.
Trump commissioned two new presidential jets during his first term to replace a pair of aging jets, which date to former President George H.W. Bush’s administration, according to the Journal.
Boeing won the $3.9 billion contract and at one point was expected to have the planes ready by last year, according to the Journal.
The company is now years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, after a series of supplier, engineering and manufacturing setbacks, the newspaper reported.
Prior to Trump’s inauguration, the White House Military Office and senior U.S. Air Force officials had contemplated canceling Boeing’s contract. The possibility of litigation also has been bandied about, the Journal reported.
The older planes require heavy maintenance, which can limit the president’s transportation options on overseas trips when one is in for repairs, the Journal reported.
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