WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump, who the White House doctors said has been "in excellent health" earlier this month, will see the food chilling systems aboard his Air Force One upgraded under a contract worth 24 million U.S. dollars.
The British Guardian newspaper said in a report that the refrigerators to be upgraded are two of five such "chillers" aboard the presidential aircraft, which must be equipped to keep 3,000 meals fresh on a daily basis according to military specifications.
That storage capacity would be enough to serve Trump and some 50 members of his entourage three meals a day for three weeks, the newspaper said, adding the calculation is based on the assumption that the president refrains from indulging himself in fast food. Trump's love for McDonald's and alike is no secret.
The CNN quoted Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek as saying the current cooling units were delivered in 1990 with commercial standards.
"The units were based on the technology at the time and designed for short-term food storage," she said, adding they are unable to "effectively support mission requirements" especially in hot and/or humid environments.
Due to the uniqueness of Air Force One, which refers not to a single plane but to any aircraft carrying the U.S. president, components on board require testing by the Federal Aviation Administration, during which process the fees are included in the price of the component to be tested, in this case the refrigerators, the CNN said.
Experts have said the reason the prices are high for maintenance or upgrade of the presidential flight is that military requirements are expensive to fulfill.
Citing the contract between the Boeing company and the U.S. Department of Defense, the report said the 24-million-dollar price will cover costs of engineering support services for the new chillers, including prototype design, manufacturing and installation.
That all being said, the Guardian equated the price tag to the sum of taxpayer money enough to cover Trump's expenditures at his Mar-a-Largo estate, where he has stayed time and again even after entering the White House, for eight weekends.
The newspaper added that the money can also be used to fund two months of security services at the Trump Tower in New York City, a shiny glass-covered high-rise the president owns but no longer lives in.
Ironically, though, Trump himself was very critical of Bowing throwing big money to build the next-generation Air Force One, tweeting in December that "costs are out of control" and urging a cancellation of the order.
