Boeing CEO says Musk helping to speed up delayed Air Force One jets

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg on Thursday said that Elon Musk is “helping us a lot” with addressing issues that have delayed the delivery of Boeing’s new Air Force One presidential aircraft.

Ortberg told analysts and investors at the Barclays Industrial Select Conference that the company is making progress with the help of Musk, the CEO of rival aerospace company SpaceX. The work has focused on improving the delivery time of the delayed Air Force One jets, as well as eliminating the risk of continued cost overruns.

“Elon Musk is actually helping us a lot in working through the requirements… so that we can move faster and get the president those airplanes delivered,” Ortberg said.

“And you know he’s a brilliant guy, so he’s able to pretty quickly ascertain the difference between technical requirements and things that we can move out of the way and he’s helping us in a big way,” Ortberg said.

TRUMP RAMPS UP PRESSURE ON BOEING OVER AIR FORCE ONE PROGRAM

FOX Business reached out to Boeing for comment.

Boeing’s defense unit, which makes Air Force One, has taken multiple charges due to cost overruns on fixed-price contracts.

The contract for the new Air Force One was initially awarded to Boeing in 2018, when it received a $3.9 billion contract to build two new 747-8 aircraft for use as Air Force One. The aircraft were originally meant to be delivered by December 2024, but subsequent delays led to that being pushed back to 2027 or 2028, with the new delay pushing that back further.

Boeing’s former head of its defense division said in July that Boeing was dealing with supply chain, inflation, workforce and other challenges in building the airplanes, which are heavily modified versions of 747 airliners. Boeing has lost more than $2 billion on the program amid the delays.

BOEING’S NEW AIR FORCE ONE DELAYED UNTIL 2029 OR LATER, OFFICIAL SAYS

The Boeing 747-8s that will eventually serve as Air Force One are designed to be an airborne White House that can fly in worst-case security scenarios, such as nuclear war, and are modified with military avionics, advanced communications and a self-defense system.

Earlier this week, a Trump administration official told FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence that the new Air Force One jets were delayed again until 2029 or later due to issues Boeing attributed to global supply chains and changing project requirements.

“It is ridiculous that the delivery of a new Air Force One airplane has been delayed for such a long time,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told FOX Business. “President Trump is working on identifying ways to speed up the delivery of a new plane, which has been needed for a while.”

Reuters contributed to this report.