The Pentagon wants to get a head start on the jet that will eventually replace the US Air Force C-32A, the Boeing 757 jets calibrated for flying the vice president and other senior level government officials, Defense One reported.
Longer flying range, more seats, a new private office and “enhanced senior leader communications” are a few of the items on the wish list for the next Air Force Two, which a new $6 million program office will seek to deliver, the budget request states.
The “doomsday” fleet of four Pentagon-altered 747s strengthen communications abilities in times of nuclear war and function as a flying executive command and control room. The new budget integrates two worst-case scenario jet programs, the doomsday plane and the Navy’s E-6 Mercury, into one program dubbed the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SOAC).
SOAC hopes to score $7.8 million to explore new aircraft to replace aging doomsday aircraft.
Air Force Two and Air Force One are supposed to serve the presidents at any time needed, especially in the event of nuclear war. Preparing the planes for atomically induced chaos is why some aerospace analysts argue Boeing’s $3.2-$4 billion new Air Force One is magnitudes costlier than the 747’s commercial price of $378.5 million.
The hope is to “better align” the next generations of Air Force One and Air Force Two, according to the Pentagon. By making a more “robust” Air Force Two, the government says it could “mitigate many capability gaps that exist when the current C-32A aircraft serve as a backup to VC-25A [the current 747 available for the president]” and the new Air Force One.
Boeing swallowed a $4 million expense for mechanical mishaps rendering the POTUS’ personal jet susceptible to fire.
