The U.S. Air Force and Boeing are close to reaching a deal to procure two 747-8 aircraft that will be converted into presidential planes, Defense One reported Tuesday.
“We’re working through the final stages of coordination to purchase two commercial 747-8 aircraft and expect to award a contract soon,â€Â said Ann Stefanek, a spokeswoman for the Air Force.
Sources familiar with the deal said Boeing originally manufactured the 747-8 planes in response to the 2013 order by Russian airline Transaero that filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
The report said the average list price for a Boeing 747-8 aircraft is worth approximately $386.8 million and that the Defense Department could disclose the deal as early as this week.
The Air Force plans to allocate approximately $3.2 billion in funds to purchase two Air Force One planes from 2018 to 2022 based on DoD’s fiscal 2018 budget request filed with Congress in February, the report added.
Defense News also reported that Boeing currently stores the two undelivered 747-8s at Southern California Logistics Airport near the Mojave Desert.
Caroline Hutcheson, a Boeing spokeswoman, said the company is in talks with the service branch over a deal for a pair of 747-8s but did not confirm the details about the proposed transaction.
