Obama administration to spend $20 BILLION on helicopter program to replace his private fleet of 23 choppers – but they won't be ready until 2022

The tab for a new helicopter fleet will likely top $20 billion, including $3 billion spent between 2005 and 2009 on a program that was later canceled

The new contract will buy 23 SIkorsky helicopters at an estimated cost of $400 million each – about the cost of the Air Force One 747 jet

Duplicate choppers fly as decoys whenever a president takes off from the South Lawn; others are flown to Obama's travel destinations in advance

Just one company bid on the project, raising questions about whether the Navy got a fair price

A former senior Pentagon official said for the price, the new aircraft should have a 'solid gold toilet ... except that it would add too much weight'

By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor
Published: 13:32 EST, 9 May 2014 | Updated: 16:12 EST, 9 May 2014

The Department of Defense awarded a contract on Wednesday to a Connecticut company that will build a fleet of helicopters to replace the Marine One fleet that ferries U.S. presidents short distances.

The contract, given to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, will cost an initial $1,244,677,064 'for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement program.' For that price the U.S. Navy will get six test aircraft and all the necessary research & development.

The Pentagon made a similar attempt to replace the aging fleet of Sikorsky choppers, spending $3.2 billion on a landing pad to nowhere.

.........................................................

More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ready-2022.html

I wonder if we could put a rush order on one and pre-program it to join MH370