Boeing’s VC-25B Air Force One replacement programme is facing another setback after Pentagon reporting indicated that unresolved interior design and certification problems are slowing work on the two modified 747-8s. The delays are now affecting wiring, structural modifications and flight-test preparations, while Boeing is also contending with supplier and quality issues on key cabin components for the presidential aircraft.
Design maturity for the interior remains behind schedule, extending a programme that has already been hit by years of slippage and cost growth. The latest assessment also points to structural stringer cracks on both aircraft, shortages of certified 747-8 cockpit windshields and persistent difficulties meeting quality requirements for passenger windows.
Boeing lost its original cabin supplier, GDC Technics, in 2021 and later moved the work to another contractor, adding more disruption to the programme. One report places the work at Port San Antonio in Texas. The cascade of delays threatens pressurisation checks, interior installation and eventual ground and flight testing for the aircraft intended to replace the current presidential fleet.