Donald Trump appears to have ordered the cancellation of the next generation of Air Force One

President-elect Trump, who has for years flown in a jet airplane bearing his name, appeared to cancel a pending order for a new Air Force One, posting on Twitter on Tuesday morning that the upgrade costs too much.

The morning tweet appeared to come out of the blue; Mr. Trump had not focused during the campaign on the cost of Boeing’s plans for a next-generation plane for the president of the United States.

And his criticism of the contract to build a new plane based on the Boeing 747-8 — Mr. Trump said the costs have swelled to $4 billion — raised the possibility that Mr. Trump might rather keep flying his own, well-appointed 757.

The current Air Force One, with its white and blue design recognizable around the globe, is based on a 747 design, and is aging. There are actually two physical planes, each of which bear the famous call sign only when the president is aboard. The Air Force designates them: VC-25A.

They were commissioned by President Ronald Reagan and delivered during the term of his successor, George Bush. The new plane, which the Defense Department had hoped to deliver to the White House by 2023, would have been more powerful, able to travel farther and be more technologically advanced.

But given Mr. Trump’s tweet, it’s unclear when — or whether — AF1 will get an upgrade.

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