Updated 12\/21\/16 at 7:39 PM EST with comments from Trump and Hewson.<\/b>
Asked by a reporter if Muilenburg believes he can get under the $4 billion figure cited by Trump (one which has been debated by defense budget experts in the weeks since), the Boeing head expressed confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We\u2019re going to get it done for less than that, and we\u2019re committed to working together to make sure that happens. And I was able to give the President-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company,” Muilenburg said. \u00a0This is a business that\u2019s important to us. We work on Air Force One because it\u2019s important to our country and we\u2019re going to make sure that he gets the best capability and that it\u2019s done affordably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to work on together. We have an active 747 production line and we\u2019re eager to get started on the program. We haven\u2019t actually started the build of the airplane yet, but once we finalize the requirements and make sure that it\u2019s affordable we\u2019ll launch on building the aircraft. We\u2019ve got a hot production line and we\u2019re ready to go.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Six days later, Trump took to Twitter to criticize another Pentagon program \u2013 the Lockheed-led F-35 joint strike fighter, sending out a 6:26 a.m. EST, tweet that “The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was not the first time Trump had criticized the F-35, but the statement obviously carried more weight for investors now that he is president-elect. Lockheed\u2019s stock dropped from $252.33 at opening and to a low of $245.70 around noon before stabilizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the day, Trump met with a handful of generals, including Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35 program head. Bogdan remains a fierce advocate for his program and has defended it against accusations of being a problem program in the past. Those generals apparently stuck around until the end of the day, when Trump emerged from his meeting with Hewson and made a brief appearance with the uniformed officers.\u00a0The pool report indicated that one of the generals was holding a trio of F-35 models. That particular general was unnamed, but was likely Bogdan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Trying to bring costs down\u2014costs. Primarily the F-35, trying to get the costs down. A program that is very, very expensive,” Trump said in response to questions from reporters. Asked specifically about any concessions from Lockheed, Trump said\u00a0“We’re just beginning, it’s a dance. It’s a little bit of a dance. But we’re going to get the costs down and we’re going to get it done beautifully.”