“Marine One” is the President’s helicopter, often seen taking off from the White House Lawn. The current version is getting old, so it is time to replace it. The VH-71 has been chosen as the airframe:

This is a big helicopter – 75 feet long, with a payload of up to 12,000 pounds. It can fly over 800 miles. It has three turboshaft engines, and can fly even if one of them fails. Inside, the cabin is huge for a helicopter: 25 feet long by 8 feet wide, or 200 square feet.

The only problem is that the helicopters keep getting more and more expensive as additional features and ammenities get added on. The helicopter now has a restroom and a kitchen, extra armor, along with every sort of communication and defensive system that can be imagined:

Cost Nearly Doubles For Marine One Fleet

From the article:

The Pentagon confirmed this month that the cost of the fleet of 28 new super-sophisticated helicopters has jumped from $6.1 billion when the contract was signed in 2005 to $11.2 billion today. Outfitted with cutting-edge communications equipment, antimissile defenses and hardened hulls, each of the VH-71 helicopters, to be dubbed Marine One whenever the president is onboard, will cost $400 million — more than the most recent Boeing 747 jetliner outfitted to serve as Air Force One when it was delivered in 1990, even when adjusted for inflation.

See also: Landing on the lawn

See also: How Air Force One Works