Air Force One
The U.S. Air Force is buying two Boeing 747-8is from Lufthansa for training and spares as part of the delayed program to replace the current VC-25A “Air Force One” fleet, the service has confirmed to Aviation Week.
While Boeing’s work on the current two 747-8is previously destined for now-defunct Russian airline TransAero is ongoing, the service says the additional aircraft are needed for the overall VC-25B program. The Air Force is buying the two aircraft from the German airline for $400 million.
“As part of the presidential airlift acceleration efforts the Air Force is procuring two aircraft to support training and spares for the 747-8 fleet,” an Air Force spokesperson told Aviation Week on Dec. 16. “Given the 747-8i is no longer in active production, and is a very different aircraft than the 747-200, it is important for the Air Force to establish an overall training and sustainment strategy for the future Air Force 747-8i fleet.”
The Air Force now expects delivery of the two 747-8is for the VC-25B program in mid-2028.
The service says it has reprioritized existing resources to fund the effort. The first of the two is expected to arrive in early 2026 with the second by the end of the year.
Lufthansa says it has agreed to sell two of its Boeing 747-8s to an undisclosed buyer. The airline did not say what the sale price was, but characterized the offer as too good to refuse. The aircraft are due for delivery in January and October, an industry official said.
Lufthansa has not yet decided how to replace the aircraft, though Boeing 777-9s and Airbus A350-1000s are candidates. Some of the airline’s aging Airbus A340-600s will serve as a gap filler.
The Air Force and Boeing disclosed the new schedule for the VC-25B on Dec. 12 and revealed at the same time that it had awarded the company a $15 million contract for new communications equipment. This brings the total value of the contract to $4.3 billion.
“These costs are associated with integration of new communications capability that allows VC-25B to keep pace with mission requirements that have evolved since the program baseline was established,” the service said at the time.
The Air Force is undertaking three high-profile programs centered on modifying 747-8s. Earlier this year, the Trump administration accepted the gift of one 747-8 to be modified as another presidential transport outside of the VC-25B program. The other is the Survivable Airborne Operations Center program to replace the current E-4B Nightwatch fleet. SNC is modifying five 747-8s it has received from Korean Airlines for the effort.
—With Jens Flottau
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