“ … a brand new 747 Air Force One … ”
At a minimum, there would be two Air Force Ones. You need a spare in case there is a problem with one. The jets generally have a life cycle of 30 years.
.. Air Force One needs to be designed to survive a nuclear war. It requires all sorts of undisclosed security upgrades and countermeasures. It can refuel in flight. The actual cost of the plane will depend on the equipment that goes into it. There also needs to be extensive testing, probably lasting two years, before the plane is deemed ready for presidential travel.
.. The Boeing 757 jet used by the secretary of state was supposed to get long-range engines but at the last moment, they were killed by then-Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). This resulted in some cost savings — and also that the secretary of state would always have to refuel in Alaska on flights to and from Asia.
..Boeing says it made no money making the last set of Air Force One jets and does not expect to make money on this order, as it is more a matter of prestige... Todd Harrison, a defense budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said “the program is very new and hardly had a chance to get started yet.” So, in effect, there are no real cost overruns yet. He added that the estimated $4 billion cost is reasonable given the requirements of the project.