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US President-elect Donald Trump wants to cancel orders for the sturdy 747 Air Force One being built by aircraft manufacturer Boeing to cut costs. He tweeted to this effect on 6 December and wrote “Cancel order!”.
Trump's aides said that his team was focused trying to save taxpayers' money and that there would be more specific details about such efforts after Trump takes office on 20 January.
Trump claimed that the aircraft costs the government $4 billion, a figure questioned by the White House.
The White House said on Tuesday it does not know where President-elect Donald Trump got his figure of more than $4 billion to replace the Air Force One plane that transports presidents, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Boeing Co on Tuesday responded to a call by President-elect Donald Trump about the costs of a new Air Force One, saying that it currently had only a $170 million contract to determine the capabilities of the new presidential aircraft.
The budgeted costs for the Air Force One replacement program are $2.87 billion for the fiscal years 2015 through 2021, according to budget documents. But the production contract has not yet been awarded to Boeing.
(With Reuters inputs)
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