Next Air Force One: an Airbus A380?; Gates on weapons buying

Published 1:03 pm Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Air Force is searching for a new aircraft for the president.

Yesterday, the Air Force began the process of picking a new Air Force One, by requesting interested companies to submit basic information on widebody aircraft that might fit the bill.

The major contenders could include Boeing’s updated 747-8 or European Airbus’s new A380.

The Air Force hopes to have the first of the new presidential aircraft by 2017.

Also on the acquisitions front, the Pentagon says Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans “corrective measures” for weapons buying, Reuters reports.

The Pentagon gave no details about what changes Gates intends to make or how that might affect Boeing’s bid to supply the Air Force with aerial refueling tankers.