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The VC-25B Bridge aircraft is teaching the Air Force how to operate the 747-8i ahead of accepting two new VC-25Bs.
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—The U.S. Air Force expects to power on the first new Air Force One this calendar year ahead of first flight next year as the service’s official overseeing the program says there has been substantial progress.
This, as President Donald Trump has been flying on the Qatari government-donated VC-25B Bridge aircraft ahead of the expected first delivery of the Boeing-built VC-25B in 2028.
Gen. Dale White, the Air Force’s direct reporting program manager for major programs, told reporters Sept. 14 at the AFA Air, Space & Cyber Conference here that there has been “tremendous progress” after substantial delays to the program, with Boeing pushing to get final structure work complete.
The program is completing electrical work ahead of powering on the aircraft, as Boeing has pressed to hire electricians to support the progress. Substantial structural work on the two 747-8is has progressed.
“The areas I focus on are the areas that I think are on the critical path to making sure we can deliver these platforms,” White said of the overall VC-25B program.
Structural work on the aircraft, including but not limited to stringer crack repairs on the airframes, has progressed, he says.
A recent selected acquisition report on the program highlighted issues relating to the certification of spare windshields and passenger windows. This is an issue that is not unique to the specific two 747-8is and impacting the broader fleet. But White says he recently was briefed on the issue and “I feel like it’s trending in the right direction. I feel like we have a solution set.”
Boeing in July announced it was taking a charge on the program to continue pressing forward to meet the aggressive schedule of delivery in 2028. White says that extra funding helped address issues with closing the design and catching up after a long delay getting there.
“They’re laser focused on that. They’ve been really good partners,” White says of Boeing. “I talked to Boeing again this morning. The commitment is there. … This program is at a really, really fast clip, but we were in a pretty challenging place to begin with and now we’re starting to turn that around.”
The delivery of the VC-25B Bridge aircraft has been controversial, as Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Sept. 14 released a bill requiring the Air Force to retain the aircraft after Trump leaves office. Trump had said the aircraft could be transferred to his presidential library.
White told reporters he has been as forthcoming as possible with the program. The aircraft has helped the Air Force learn how to operate the 747-8i.
“What we’ve learned is the unique nature of how you maintain it and sustain it. Basically, how this platform is so different in how you even fly it,” he says. “So what this has required us to do is to take a step back and think through, thoughtfully, on how we’re going to go about maintenance, how we’re going to go about sustaining, how we’re going to go about training and all of those things. And what that does, which is critically important, is it has given that ramp up to the VC-25B airplanes because they’re identical.
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