Qatari 747 will be ready to fly as Air Force One this summer: NPR

The U.S. Air Force has completed modifying and testing a Boeing 747 jet donated by Qatar for temporary use as Air Force One and expects it to be ready for President Donald Trump’s use this summer, the service announced late Friday.

The Air Force said in a news release that the jets are currently being painted red, white and blue.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury jet a year ago, despite concerns about the ethics and legality of accepting an expensive gift from a foreign nation, as well as concerns about security and cyber intelligence. Trump has defended the gift as a way to save tax dollars.

Trump has said that when his term ends, he will not travel by plane. Instead, he said, the plane will be donated to a future presidential library, in the same way that the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and displayed as a museum piece.

Air Force officials said the former Qatari jet will serve as a “bridge” until Boeing is ready to deliver a pair of new planes, which is now expected to happen in 2028.

The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades, and Trump is eager to replace them. During his first term, he displayed a model of a new jumbo jet in the Oval Office, complete with a modified paint scheme that mirrored the red, white and dark blue design of his personal aircraft.

Boeing is retrofitting 747s originally built for the grounded Russian airliner. But the program has faced nearly a decade of delays due to a number of issues, including the bankruptcy of a key subcontractor and the difficulty of finding and retaining qualified staff who can be granted high-level security clearance.

The new planes aren’t going to be ready until the end of Trump’s term, and his patience has run out. He described the situation as “a complete mess” and complained that Air Force One was not as good as the planes flown by some Arab leaders.

The $400 million Qatari plane has been described as a “palace in the sky”, complete with luxurious accommodations and top-class finishes.

But when it comes to the President’s visit, security is the primary concern. The current Air Force One aircraft were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War. They are designed to be hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and include a number of safety features, such as anti-missile measures and an onboard operating room. They are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, although they have never been used with a President.

It is unclear what capabilities were added to the former Qatari jet. The Air Force did not disclose the cost of the modifications, but lawmakers suggested last year they could exceed $1 billion.

Air Force officials said they leased a 747-8 freighter from Atlas Air between October and February so pilots could become familiar with the latest version. The US has also purchased two jets from German carrier Lufthansa for training and spare parts. Boeing stops manufacturing the 747 in 2023.