Marine One one expensive helicopter - UPI.com

Marine One one expensive helicopter - UPI.com: "Marine One one expensive helicopter
Marine One one expensive helicopter

WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- Security, mission creep and bureaucracy nearly doubled the cost of a U.S. helicopter fleet and pushed its deadline into the unknown, The Washington Post said.

The White House set out to upgrade the fleet of helicopters called Marine One by ordering 28 new high-tech helicopters but the initial price tag of $6.1 billion soared to $11.2 billion and the target date of completion is something of a vague guess, the Post said Monday.

Each helicopter runs about $400 million because they will be outfitted with anti-missile systems, jamming devices and a hull that is resistant to the aftereffects of a nuclear explosion in order to protect the president.

"You don't think of it in terms of what's the cost of the individual helicopter," said Jacques S. Gansler, a former undersecretary of defense for acquisition. "You think of it as, what do we need to do to protect the president?"

U.S. President George Bush doesn't have any particular influence in the project because none of the helicopters will be ready until well after he leaves office. The first five are due in 2010, which is a year behind schedule, and the due date for the remainder of the fleet has slipped to sometime after 2015, the newspaper said.