Trump's tweet about Air Force One was wrong — here's the full story (BA)

REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

Boeing's upcoming replacement for the US Air Force's fleet of aging presidential transports may have run into an unexpected snag.

President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that he believes the jets based on the Boeing 747-8, which were selected last year, are too expensive and that he intends to cancel the order.

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

However, Trump's $4 billion price tag for the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program — aka the next Air Force One — seems to be a bit off. More like $800 million off.

According to a report by the Government Accountability Office published in March, the PAR program has an estimated total cost of $3.21 billion spread out over the next decade or so.

The PAR program will consist of two 747-8-derived jets set to enter service in 2024, which means that even if Boeing delivers on time, Trump will not have the opportunity to fly on the aircraft.

By that time, the existing aircraft — which were ordered by Ronald Reagan — will be 34 years old.

Flying White House

"The PAR aircraft will be a four-engine, wide-body, commercial derivative aircraft, uniquely modified to provide the president, staff, and guests with safe and reliable air transportation with the equivalent level of security and communications capability available in the White House," the GAO wrote in its report.

This means the new Boeing jets will have to be able to operate as a fleet of flying White Houses.

Upgrades include:

• More powerful engines
• Midair refueling capability
• Missile defense systems
• Electronic countermeasure defense systems
• An operating room
• The ability survive the electromagnetic pulse emitted from a nuclear detonation
• The communications capabilities to manage a wartime crisis from anywhere in the world

In other words, the Air Force's newly ordered jumbos will have little in common with a conventional commercial airliner or a private jet.

In a statement to Business Insider, Boeing wrote:

"We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of this complex military aircraft that serves 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 plane for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer."

The current fleet of presidential aircraft, which the Air Force calls the VC-25A, entered service in 1990, during the George H.W. Bush administration. The two planes, with tail numbers 28000 and 29000, are highly modified examples of the Boeing 747-200B airliner.

REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

The Air Force decided to forgo an open competition for the VC-25A replacement, opting instead to award the sole-source contract to Boeing because no other manufacturer in the US is capable of fulfilling the requirements. In fact, the only other aircraft in the world with similar capabilities is the European Airbus A380 superjumbo.

"The Boeing 747-8 is the only aircraft manufactured in the United States [that] when fully missionized meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission," Air Force Secretary Deborah James said at the time of the selection, in January 2015.

According to Reuters, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters," Some of the statistics that have been cited, shall we say, don't appear to reflect the nature of the financial arrangement between Boeing and the Department of Defense." 

The commercial Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner retails for $367.8 million.