Boeing has won the deal to build new Air Force One presidential jets

Boeing has won a contract to start preliminary design work on a new fleet of Air Force One presidential aircraft based on its 747-8 commercial airliner, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The US Air Force awarded Boeing an initial contract worth $25.8 million (£18.1 million) to start work on the program by looking at the tradeoffs between the requirements for the new plane and its design, according to the Pentagon's daily digest of arms deals.

The Air Force first announced in January 2015 that Boeing's 747-8 would be used to replace the two current Air Force planes used to transport the US president, which are based on the Boeing 747-200 airliners.