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Posted on 07/30/2026 9:49:29 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
President Donald Trump is back flying on the traditional blue-and-white Air Force One, while his plane gifted from the Qatari royal family is in the shop. It's easy to forget that two other planes are still on the way. Boeing announced in its Q2 financial statement on Tuesday that the Air Force One program will cost an additional $280 million. The program is now $3.1 billion over budget. Unlike the Qatari jet, Boeing is footing the bill for cost overruns, not the taxpayer.
The first VC-25B was initially slated for delivery in 2024, the final year of Trump's second term if he had won the 2020 election. Production delays shifted that date back to 2027. Trump returning to the White House in 2025 created an unforeseen problem: A petulant President expecting a new plane that wasn't ready. There were plenty of offers, including from Elon Musk, to take over from Boeing and rush production to get a new plane ready for service.
Qatar used Trump's desperation to get his approval on a $96 billion deal with Boeing. The Gulf monarchy just had to part with a private $400 million Boeing 747 that it wasn't using. Once the gifted plane was delivered, the White House gave $1 billion to defense contractor L3Harris to prepare the aircraft for service as Air Force One. The aircraft was ready in 11 months, suspiciously fast compared to Boeing's effort. The Secret Service, then the world, would quickly realize the gifted plane wasn't fully equipped for the job.
Trump negotiated with Boeing during his first term to replace the aging Boeing VC-25A. The $3.9 billion deal signed in 2018 was a gamble for Boeing, because the aerospace giant agreed to a fixed cost. Boeing struggled to deliver the pair of VC-25Bs because of design changes, production issues and staffing problems. According to CNN, last quarter's $280 million increase was for a "ramp-up in production and certification resources." While the Department of Defense doesn't have to deal with the added cost, the delayed delivery wasn't a non-issue.
The first VC-25B was initially slated for delivery in 2024, the final year of Trump's second term if he had won the 2020 election. Production delays shifted that date back to 2027. Trump returning to the White House in 2025 created an unforeseen problem: A petulant President expecting a new plane that wasn't ready. There were plenty of offers, including from Elon Musk, to take over from Boeing and rush production to get a new plane ready for service.
Qatar used Trump's desperation to get his approval on a $96 billion deal with Boeing. The Gulf monarchy just had to part with a private $400 million Boeing 747 that it wasn't using. Once the gifted plane was delivered, the White House gave $1 billion to defense contractor L3Harris to prepare the aircraft for service as Air Force One. The aircraft was ready in 11 months, suspiciously fast compared to Boeing's effort. The Secret Service, then the world, would quickly realize the gifted plane wasn't fully equipped for the job.
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Ain’t going because...
Probably time for the government to just bite the bullet and buy an Airbus.
So it is President Trump’s fault that Boeing signed a contract and is being held to it instead of the usual unlimited cost overruns that they usually get that screws the taxpayer.
I doubt Trump will let a perfectly good plane sit in storage after he leaves the White House. People typically steal office supplies from the job, taking a $1 billion plane should be illegal.
Good Lord, what is this? Mother Jones?
“””So it is President Trump’s fault that Boeing signed a contract and is being held to it instead of the usual unlimited cost overruns that they usually get that screws the taxpayer.”””
It’s great that he made them stick to the agreed upon price.
That’s the difference between a civilian President and a lifer politician.
When you hire a bunch of wheelchair bound black female lesbian vegans with pink hair and nose rings to build a large airplane. What were they expecting?
Boeing does significant business with Israel, a decades-long relationship as a primary supplier of commercial aircraft to Israeli airlines and military hardware to the Israel Defense Forces.
So US taxpayers are helping to bailout Boeing.
Military Contracts: Boeing supplies Israel with advanced defense systems, including AH-64 Apache helicopters, F-15 fighter jets, smart bombs, and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers.
Commercial Aviation: Boeing provides commercial passenger planes heavily used by Israeli airlines, such as El Al.
Supply Chain Partnerships: Boeing works closely with the Israeli aerospace sector, integrating technologies and parts from companies like Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) into Boeing products globally.
cont
cont
Boeing has supplied the Israeli Air Force (IAF) with the following key military platforms:
F-15IA Eagle: Under a major $8.6 billion agreement, Boeing is supplying the IAF with 25 newly-built advanced F-15IA fighter jets (with an option for 25 more).
F-15I “Ra’am” (Thunder): Boeing previously supplied 25 dual-role fighter aircraft heavily customized with Israeli avionics and electronic warfare systems.
KC-46A Pegasus: Boeing recently delivered the first of its next-generation aerial refueling tankers to the IAF to modernize their mid-air refueling capabilities.
AH-64D “Saraf” Apache: Boeing has supplied and upgraded the IAF’s attack helicopter fleet, which features customized Israeli mission equipment.
Legacy Platforms: Historically, Boeing (including heritage companies like McDonnell Douglas) supplied older combat and transport aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom and A-4 Skyhawk.
Israel directly pays Boeing billions for military aircraft using U.S. tax dollars allocated to Israel through the annual Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program approved by the obedient Congress.
While Israel is the buyer, tax dollars from the subservient US government processes these purchases and pays Boeing directly on Israel’s behalf.
F-15IA Fighter Jets: In late 2025, the Pentagon awarded Boeing an $8.6 billion contract to design, manufacture, and deliver 25 new F-15IA fighter jets for the Israeli Air Force. The deal includes an option for an additional 25 jets, bringing the total potential contract value to $18.8 billion for the aircraft.
Smart Bombs: In March 2026, Boeing secured an additional $289 million contract to supply Israel with up to 5,000 precision-guided air-launched smart bombs.Refueling Tankers: Israel also previously placed orders for Boeing KC-46A aerial refueling tankers, valued at roughly $2.4 billion, funded with US tax dollars via US aid packages.
The Department of Defense oversees these Foreign Military Sales (FMS) from Boeing’s St. Louis, Missouri facilities, with deliveries and production extending into the next decade.
Jan 5, 2026 — The Pentagon awarded Boeing an $8.6 billion contract to supply F-15IA fighter jets to Israel, funded largely by US taxpayers.
You can read more about the U.S.-backed aerospace purchases on Military.com or Reuters.
And too Biden did not work for accountability to Boeing. Trump on the other hand was full-on watching every sleazy DEI move and slowdown.
“ramp-up in production and certification resources.”
euphemism for correcting longstanding DEI agendas.
And Israel upgraded most of those platforms and gave us the upgrades.
I wonder if Boeing is simply too big and technically complex for any human to manage it effectively.
This project should be cancelled. It’s cheaper to retrofit gifts than pay for over cost items
Boeing didn’t used to be too big to manage and it actually did more. They just lost sight of the reason they exist and expend all their energy on things that don’t make them successful. A lot of times executives fashion incentives around what is good for themselves rather than the company.
Plenty of other defense contractors succeed in big projects even with a generous amount of strategic incompetence.
If the intention was for the bridge aircraft to have all the capabilities of the older aircraft it would have. I have to wonder if the main point of the exercise was highlighting Boeing’s incompetence.
Stop the illegal gravy train and it would save the Air Force One Program and a lot more.
The most prominent example involves the F-35. Israel is the only foreign operator "authorized" to modify the F-35 (designated the F-35I "Adir"). They integrate proprietary, Israeli-developed electronic warfare (EW) systems, customized weapons, and external jamming pods.
Regarding Boeing platforms, such as the KC-46 refueling tankers or F-15s, Israel customizes the avionics and weapons payloads to fit its own specific doctrine. Tax dollars to the US military co-finances and tests these technologies with Israel, such as the C-130 simulation centers and missile defense systems.
=========================================================
The US taxpayer provides approximately $3.8 billion annually in baseline military and missile defense aid to Israel.
While this forms a significant portion of Israel’s defense budget, the US also provides billions in supplemental funding.
Specific details on this financial and technological partnership include:
<>Baseline Funding (Annual MOU)
<> The current 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (FY 2019–2028) commits $3.8 billion per year.
<>$3.3 billion for Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
<>plus $500M explicitly for Israeli missile defense programs (Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow).
Missile Defense Systems: US tax dollars heavily finances Israel's multi-tiered aerial defense shield. Since 2011, the US taxpayer has provided over $1.7 billion dedicated strictly to the Iron Dome system, and also helped fund the higher-altitude Arrow systems and David's Sling.
Recent Supplemental Packages: the US has approved over $20 billion tax dollars in additional supplementary aid and arms packages since late 2023 to support war operations and replenish defense stockpiles.
Under a "unique arrangement," up to 25% of the tax dollars allocation to Israel is used by Israel on domestic procurement to support its own thriving profitable defense industry.
You can track annual US authorization acts and exact appropriations via the Congressional Research Service.
It should have been so simple.
I doubt government procurement and contract administration have contributed a thing to the Boeing cost and delivery overruns.
/s
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