Defense Dept making $34 million upgrades to two backup presidential aircraft: report

The Department of Defense is reportedly funneling $34 million into renovations for two aircraft that serve as back ups to Air Force One so the planes’ interiors more closely resemble the one on the president’s primary plane.

Defense One reported Thursday that, according to contract documents, the smaller Boeing 757s are being updated to have “an appearance more commensurate with [the] presidential section of the VC-25A,” referring to the Boeing 747s that serve as Air Force One.

The Air Force awarded a $16 million contract to Boeing earlier this week to implement “upgraded interior elements” on one of the smaller planes.

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The Air Force did not return Defense One’s request for comment. Boeing deferred comment to the Air Force.

Defense One noted that the Air Force granted another $18 million contract to Boeing last year for upgrades to another aircraft.

The report on the smaller planes comes after the White House announced last month that Boeing had been awarded a $3.9 billion contract to design and build two new planes to serve as Air Force One.

Trump has said that the new planes will be painted red, white and blue, a shift from the aircraft’s current design.

“Air Force One is going to be incredible,” Trump said in an interview last month. “It’s going to be the top of the line, the top in the world, and it’s going to be red, white and blue. Which I think is appropriate.”