The mechanicals and electronics are what the L3 Harris folks went through with a fine tooth comb. It was pretty much confirmed to be in 'very bad shape' under the skin once inspected in detail. I'm reminded of John Travolta's beautiful 707
which had to be scrapped eventually because it's again the stuff we don't see that really matters.
Most all of this other than the starlink/starshield terminals etc. are standard commercial 748i unlike an actual VC-25B which will have the extra engine generators and lots of self-protective and secure communications gear installed/hardened.
The USAF is also acquiring a full motion simulator, a couple training aircraft and spares for the fleet, which will include up to 8 (former Korean Air) E-4C command and control/doomsday aircraft (
these being modified/fitted by Sierra Nevada). I bring that up because all are essentially fully rebuilt to new on the inside for these missions, and there's a need to train crew/maintenance on the new type (a 747-8i is vastly different vs. an early 70's 747-200 for all involved).
Quote:
Col. Golden said that a new aircraft wouldn't be necessary, making acquisition of a used 747-8 a possibility.
Quote:
You don't have to buy a brand-new aircraft. It's not like a car... You can buy an older aircrafta few years old, five years old, it doesn't matterand the engineers will strip it down and build it back up
I don't know how many qualified pilots/maintenance techs USAF will need ultimately, but it is going to be a significant number, and starting with the bridge aircraft probably has knock-on effects that are beneficial imho.
