MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US President-elect Donald Trump argued there was no need for a multibillion-dollar plane to fly him around, in an interview with Fox News Sunday.
Trump complained on Tuesday that Boeing had asked too much money for new planes known by the call sign "Air Force One," to be used by US presidents. They will not be ready until 2024.
"I don't need a $4.2 billion airplane to fly around in, okay," Trump said, as quoted by Fox News on Twitter.
.@realDonaldTrump on the new @Boeing Air Force One order: "I don't need a $4.2 billion airplane to fly around in, okay." #FNS
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) December 11, 2016
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James has said the price of new Air Force One aircraft could be reduced only by cutting back on crucial security and communication features.
The Air Force, which oversees the contract for the presidential planes, said earlier it was still conducting risk-reduction activities with Boeing that would eventually define the plane’s cost.
The Air Force has budgeted $1.65 billion for the two new airplanes and related work between 2015 and 2019.