The head of Boeing’s defence business feels that the VC-25B presidential aircraft programme is on the right track and is unfazed by a US government decision to obtain a used Qatari 747-8 Boeing Business Jet (BBJ).
During a recent interview with FlightGlobal in Singapore, Steve Parker, the interim chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, sounded a positive note on the long-delayed VC-25B programme, which will see two 747-8Is converted into presidential transports.
“We’ve working very closely with the [Trump] administration and made more progress in the last four months than we’ve made in the last four years,” says Parker.
“Elon Musk has been working with us, as well as the air force. We had some requirements that were just unachievable. The design is pretty close to being completed now.”
Parker stresses that there are competing requirements between a commercial transport, such as the baseline 747-8I, and a military aircraft, such as the VC-25B. Two specific conflict areas, for instance, are depressurisation and wiring separation.
Parker notes that the US Air Force (USAF), which will operate the jet, has mooted a 2027 delivery date, which brings forward the delivery by several years.
“There are a couple more conversations to have in terms of configuration, but we are getting very, very close to locking up the engineering design, and we’re making steady state progress on the first two aircraft,” says Parker.
“Our entire focus, and my focus here, is making sure that that at the end of the day we have a safe, airworthy aircraft that’s going to transport the president, and meet all the national security requirements it needs to perform.”
Boeing inked the $4 billion VC-25B deal in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term but has run into significant delays. The programme has generated more than $1 billion in penalty charges for Boeing, tied to violations of the fixed-price contract’s schedule and cost parameters.
Early in his second term Trump made his impatience clear. This influenced a controversial decision to accept a used 747-8I BBJ from Qatar, with L3Harris – and not Boeing – reportedly tapped to modify the jet into a presidential transport.
FlightGlobal asked Parker if Boeing was collaborating with L3Harris, but he says that this question is better directed to the USAF.
Given Boeing’s storied history as the maker of presidential aircraft, FlightGlobal also asked if the Qatari deal carried any sting for the company.
“No,” says Parker.
“At the end of the day whatever the president decides to do we’ll fully support it. Our focus is on completing the first two VC-25Bs and making them the best that we can, making sure they are safe, making sure they are airworthy, and getting them to the president as quickly as we can. But we’re not going to cut any corners, and safety and quality are our focus.”
