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New Air Force One is ridiculously costly at $4 million, cancel order: Donald Trump

News Agencies | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:37 IST

US President-elect Donald Trump on 7 December called for cancelling the Air Force One order to Boeing, slamming the plane manufacturer for the "ridiculous" high cost of over USD 4 billion.

"Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than USD 4 billion. Cancel order!" Trump tweeted.

In January 2016, the US Air Force placed a contract with Boeing for replacing the current Air Force One aircraft with a new Boeing 747. Boeing has built the plane for every US President since Franklin Roosevelt.

Later, Trump said the estimated USD 4 billion cost was "totally out of control" and "ridiculous".

"I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money," the president-elect told reporters at Trump Tower, his Manhattan headquarters.

In a statement, Boeing said, "We are currently under contract for USD 170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the president of the United States."

"We look forward to working with the US Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer."

Trump had tweeted in 2013 that he owned Boeing stock, but a spokesman said he sold all of his stocks in June. In a conference call with reporters, Jason Miller, communicator director of the Trump Transition Team, said Trump sold all his stocks in Boeing in June.

"The president-elect was making a statement here that a USD 4 billion price tag is a very big number. I think taxpayers want to make sure that we're seeing absolute accountability and that the government is doing the best to drive costs down," he said in response to a question.

"So we're gonna look for those opportunities to do so at every stretch. Before the exact details, we can get into that more after the president-elect is sworn in on January 20," Miller said.

--PTI

First published: 7 December 2016, 10:36 IST