The US government is reportedly looking at acquiring two B747-8s originally intended for Transaero Airlines (Moscow Vnukovo) but never taken up by the now bankrupt Russian carrier.
Citing defense officials with knowledge of the talks, Defense One magazine reported this week that United States Air Force officials are in the process of finalizing a deal with Boeing (BOE, Washington National) for the two aircraft - N894BA (msn 42416) and N895BA (msn 42417).
“We’re working through the final stages of coordination to purchase two commercial 747-8 aircraft and expect to award a contract soon,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement.
The US government currently operates two upgraded military variants of the B747-200B civilian airliner - VC-25As - under the Air Force One call sign. At thirty years of age, 82-8000 (msn 23824) and 92-9000 (msn 23825) have been slated for replacement for some time. However, the decision to pursue the two Transaero models was taken following President Donald Trump's lament that the projected cost of a new Air Force One aircraft was too high.
If acquired, N894BA (msn 42416) and N895BA (msn 42417) would undergo substantial modification to ensure compliance with US government requirements.
