By Bo Erickson and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday that aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky would pay for the new helicopter landing pad under construction at the White House, adding that the project aimed to accommodate the next-generation Marine One helicopters.
Trump said Sikorsky, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Martin Corp, was paying about $5 to $6 million to construct a granite landing pad on the White House South Lawn.
“They didn’t tell us how powerful these helicopters were and they felt a little bit guilty,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The president said after he learned Sikorsky was paying, he asked for the helipad to have a carved seal of the White House.
Lockheed did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s comments.
In 2024, a fleet of new Marine One helicopters was completed, meant to increase performance and payload, according to the U.S. Navy.
“When you land on the grass, it’s not that the grass gets discolored, it gets ripped out,” Trump said.
(Reporting By Bo Erickson and Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu)
