https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/26/air-force-one-instruction-manual-cost-84-million/
£84 MILLION just for the workshop manual.
Air Force One instruction manual to cost US taxpayers $84 million
The overall cost of two new Air Force One planes is $3.9 billion
An instruction manual for Donald Trump's new Air Force One will cost $84 million to produce.
The staggering amount, more than the cost of many planes, was revealed in a contract issued by the Pentagon to Boeing.
In 2018 Mr Trump ordered two new planes to act as Air Force One, the air traffic control call sign for a US Air Force aircraft carrying the president.
The cost of the manual is part of the overall $3.9 billion cost of the two planes.
According to the Pentagon contract Boeing has been awarded the $84 million for "VC-25B technical publications". VC-25B is another military designation for Air Force One.
In a statement the Pentagon said: "This contract modification is to modify commercial manuals, update with VC-25B-specific information and deliver integrated manuals for the VC-25B system."
The work on the instruction manual is expected to be completed by January 15, 2025, a timeline that suggests the planes themselves may not be ready until after a possible second term for Mr Trump.
Experts said the cost of the manual, which will stretch to about 100,000 pages, was due to the complexity of the planes.
They are 747-8s but are being heavily modified, including with medical facilities on board.
There will also be equipment on board allowing the president to function during worst-case security scenarios such as nuclear war, including an advanced communications suite and a self-defence system.
The manual will have details of how to fly, maintain and fix the planes and its unique systems.
Two replacement Air Force One planes were originally ordered under the Obama administration.
Early in his presidency Mr Trump objected to the multi-billion dollar price tag:
The White House claimed its 2018 deal with Boeing represented a $1.4 billion saving on the original deal.
The cost of manuals for US military equipment is generally high.
Two years ago a manual for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon military aircraft cost $31 million.
A $24 million contract to buy two fridges for the new Air Force One planes was cancelled in 2018 after Heather Wilson, the then Air Force Secretary, said it "didn't pass the smell test".
Equipment for Air Force One is always expensive because it is specific to one or two planes, and because anyone involved in its production has to have high level security clearance.
Mr Trump's Air Force One planes will be red, white and blue, instead of the current blue and white colour scheme which dates back to the presidency of John F.Kennedy.
£84 MILLION just for the workshop manual.
Air Force One instruction manual to cost US taxpayers $84 million
The overall cost of two new Air Force One planes is $3.9 billion
An instruction manual for Donald Trump's new Air Force One will cost $84 million to produce.
The staggering amount, more than the cost of many planes, was revealed in a contract issued by the Pentagon to Boeing.
In 2018 Mr Trump ordered two new planes to act as Air Force One, the air traffic control call sign for a US Air Force aircraft carrying the president.
The cost of the manual is part of the overall $3.9 billion cost of the two planes.
According to the Pentagon contract Boeing has been awarded the $84 million for "VC-25B technical publications". VC-25B is another military designation for Air Force One.
In a statement the Pentagon said: "This contract modification is to modify commercial manuals, update with VC-25B-specific information and deliver integrated manuals for the VC-25B system."
The work on the instruction manual is expected to be completed by January 15, 2025, a timeline that suggests the planes themselves may not be ready until after a possible second term for Mr Trump.
Experts said the cost of the manual, which will stretch to about 100,000 pages, was due to the complexity of the planes.
They are 747-8s but are being heavily modified, including with medical facilities on board.
There will also be equipment on board allowing the president to function during worst-case security scenarios such as nuclear war, including an advanced communications suite and a self-defence system.
The manual will have details of how to fly, maintain and fix the planes and its unique systems.
Two replacement Air Force One planes were originally ordered under the Obama administration.
Early in his presidency Mr Trump objected to the multi-billion dollar price tag:
The White House claimed its 2018 deal with Boeing represented a $1.4 billion saving on the original deal.
The cost of manuals for US military equipment is generally high.
Two years ago a manual for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon military aircraft cost $31 million.
A $24 million contract to buy two fridges for the new Air Force One planes was cancelled in 2018 after Heather Wilson, the then Air Force Secretary, said it "didn't pass the smell test".
Equipment for Air Force One is always expensive because it is specific to one or two planes, and because anyone involved in its production has to have high level security clearance.
Mr Trump's Air Force One planes will be red, white and blue, instead of the current blue and white colour scheme which dates back to the presidency of John F.Kennedy.
