Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel – Cost: $241 Million

The President of the United States (POTUS) safety is of tantamount importance. So, it’s no surprise that the government was willing to shell out a lot of money for a new fleet of presidential helicopters in the early 2000s. And thus, the Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel came to be.

Originally designed as a search and rescue vehicle, the VH-71 Kestrel was reimagined into an 18-seat, all-weather chopper. The manufacturing of the 23 flyers was beset with cost problems and was scrapped in 2009. Two years later, the helicopters were sold to Canada for $164 million.