L3Harris Comes to the Rescue, Modifying an Interim Presidential Aircraft

Boeing’s plan to replace the aging pair of Air Force One 747s has hit a wall—again. The program, originally set for completion in 2024, is now at least four years behind schedule. Meanwhile, the Air Force has turned to L3Harris Technologies to convert a privately owned Qatari 747-8 into a temporary solution.

The current 747s, or VC-25As, have served US presidents since the early 1990s. They’re packed with secure communications, missile defenses, and in-flight refueling. While they were ahead of their time when they entered service, they’re now aging fast.

“Every day we fly the existing fleet, we’re gambling with presidential security,” noted Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost of the Air Mobility Command. “These aircraft weren’t designed for 21st-century threats.”

Boeing’s $3.9 billion contract to replace them has already gone $2 billion over budget. The company blames labor shortages, long lead times for specialty components, and the extreme complexity of installing military-grade systems into commercial airframes. A Government Accountability Office report found that more than half of Boeing’s subcontractors were missing deadlines.

The new aircraft are supposed to withstand electromagnetic pulses, cyberattacks, and even missile strikes. The wiring alone stretches 238 miles, so not surprisingly, nothing about the project is simple…or on time.

To plug the gap, the Department of Defense awarded L3Harris a $400 million contract to modify a 2017 Qatar Executive 747-8. It’s slightly newer and more fuel-efficient than the 2015 Boeing donor airframes, and it already has a luxury interior. That shaves 18 months off modification time. Still, converting a foreign-configured aircraft into a U.S. command center presents challenges in cybersecurity and system hardening.

L3Harris plans to use a modular systems architecture to allow for upgrades as the main Boeing project stumbles forward. While not ideal, it’s a way to keep something flying until Boeing delivers.

FMI: www.boeing.com