Thread by @neontaster

I know we all hate government waste but sometimes things that seem dumb and cost a ton of money still need to be done and cost that much. This Air Force One refrigerator story is a pretty good example. I'll explain:

Here are a bunch of flat facts:
1. POTUS requires an ultra secure plane that can serve as a mobile command center for the United States for an extended period of time.
2. In order for this plane to do that, it needs to be able to carry a lot of food.

3. Every component on an aircraft, especially this aircraft, needs to be FAA certified to be installed on one, which involves stress tests and such.
4. Due to the unique requirements of Air Force One, you need a custom-made system to carry that amount of food.

So, given these 4 facts that I think we can all reasonably agree are true, what happens when the refrigerator system breaks? Like say you've been doing maintenance on it for 30 years but it's just finally on its last legs. You need a new one.

And so you need to design and build it and also have it tested for aviation safety and security, all of which are time-consuming and quality labor-intensive (meaning many hours for people who are more expensive to employ like engineers).

The actual contract language states that the money will be used for the "prototype design, manufacture/procurement, installation, and the testing of one prototype, consisting of both Group A and Group B equipment. " (meaning two systems, probably for Air Force One and Two)

And since the contract was awarded in December 2017 and work is expected to be completed in October 30, 2019, just factor in the labor and material costs, and you come up with something that sounds annoyingly expensive but isn't unnecessarily expensive. Important difference.

I guess my point is that sometimes things are expensive because of circumstances and not every large figure in a headline is actually disproportionate to what's actually being bought with those dollars.

fin

Footnote:
Air Force Contract quote and info come from here: defense.gov/News/Contracts…