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United States Air Force Secretary Troy Meink addressed Congress on June 5th, indicating that the transformation of a civilian Boeing 747-8 from Qatar into an Air Force One aircraft would likely cost under $400 million. Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, Meink mentioned that this budget would include spare parts along with the retrofitting process.
Democratic Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut noted that the current project for constructing two new Boeing VC-25s (Air Force One 747s) has a budget of $3.9 billion. Despite this comparison, Meink maintained confidence in his cost estimate for the retrofit.
Meink refrained from disclosing specific details about the plane's modification requirements, citing classification issues. He dismissed projections exceeding $1 billion as inflated and did not provide further elaboration when pressed by Courtney.
