Air Force Two's $16 million upgrade seeks a more 'presidential' look
by James Langford
August 15, 2018 01:47 PM 
The Air Force has awarded a $16 million contract to Boeing to upgrade one of the four Boeing 757s used by the vice president and senor government officials.
(Ryu Seung-il/Bloomberg) One of the four Boeing jetliners frequently used by the vice president and the secretary of state — and sometimes for President Trump's weekend trips — is getting a $16 million overhaul that will make its interior more like that of the larger aircraft popularly known as Air Force One.
Chicago-based Boeing Co. was awarded a contract this month that covers upgrading and refurbishing interior elements of one of the twin-engine Boeing 757s as well as painting and cleaning to create an "appearance more commensurate with [the] presidential section of the VC-25A," the military designation for the Boeing 747 jumbo jet flown by the president, the Defense Department said in a statement Tuesday.
The reasons for the improvements on the smaller plane, designated C-32A by the military, weren't immediately clear, though aircraft used for executive travel have been focal points in Trump's presidency. He lambasted one proposal for a new presidential jet before even taking office, saying the more than $4 billion in costs were "out of control."
The administration later settled on a different $3.9 billion proposal to buy two aircraft based on Boeing's 747-8 model, which carries four engines and can fly up to 8,000 nautical miles, that he wants painted red, white, and blue.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/air-force-twos-16-million-upgrade-seeks-a-more-presidential-look
