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Air Force One, gifted to Trump from Qatar, arrives at Joint Base Andrews
The newest Air Force One jet, gifted to President Trump from the Qatari government, arrived ahead of schedule on Friday to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
On Friday afternoon, Trump toured the luxury Boeing 747 plane that initially stirred controversy. The plane was one of the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the U.S. government and raised legal and ethical questions after Qatar offered to replace the presidential jet last year. Trump said last May he'd be "stupid" not to accept the offer. Industry groups originally said the plane could be worth approximately $400 million.
Trump also spoke standing in front of the plane, thanking the Emir of Qatar.
The president praised the workmanship of the plane, describing it as the "world's most luxurious plane." He also called it the "largest Air Force One ever built," adding "it flies further and faster than any Air Force One."
"This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody's ever seen before, probably even almost outside of an airplane," Trump said. "Nobody's ever seen anything like this, and in only 10 months, a timeframe no one thought possible."
The exterior of the jet is no longer light blue, silver, and white – a fixture since the Kennedy administration. Trump unveiled the new red, white and blue color scheme.
"It was time for a change. … Everything was designed good. It was my taste," Trump said saying that he approved the new color scheme, which reflects the American flag.
The VC-25B Bridge aircraft will now undertake its commissioning flights, what the Air Force calls a "final exam" for the plane. The plane was modified after serving the Qatari Head of State.
"Once these flights are successfully completed, the aircraft is officially 'commissioned' into the active executive airlift fleet and becomes available for presidential missions," an Air Force press release said.
The aircraft from Qatar will "serve as a bridge until the [long-term] VC-25B is delivered," according to earlier communications from the Air Force. The plane was delivered well before expectations. The Air Force originally estimated the plane would be delivered in 2028 but said by modifying requirements it could deliver the first aircraft in 2027. The modifications "were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed," the Air Force said.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach praised the delivery.
"Many thought it could not be done, but the United States Air Force was able to execute and provide a secure, reliable airborne command post on an accelerated timeline," he said.
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Top White House officials on Thursday morning bade farewell to a jet that has carried U.S. presidents around the world for 35 years, as the Trump administration prepares to replace it with a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar to serve as Air Force One.
As President Donald Trump and his staff returned from France after 3 a.m. on Thursday morning, White House communications director Steven Cheung and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted photos of one of the highly customized, heavily fortified Boeing 747-200B jumbo jets that are called Air Force One when carrying the president.
“Well done, good and faithful servant,” Cheung wrote on X, captioning the photo as “The Last Ride.”
The White House did not immediately comment on the transition, but the Air Force announced last month that the Qatari jet had completed modification and flight testing.
It is not yet clear, however, whether the new Air Force One will be cleared to fly the president on overseas trips. In a statement to The Washington Post, the Air Force said that “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”
“We coordinated closely with appropriate government entities to ensure all functional mission requirements were strictly met for transporting the President,” the Air Force said.
The Pentagon and its contractor, L3Harris, moved on an accelerated schedule to refurbish the plane in order to meet Trump’s desire for a new aircraft.
In early June, Texas-based aviation photographer Travis Ghormley captured a nighttime photo of the replacement aircraft in Waco in its new dark blue, red, gold and white livery; the plane had been in Waco for repainting after L3Harris completed other refurbishment work in Texas.
While the exterior appearance of the jet is completely new, the Air Force did not modify the luxury interior, keeping the leather lounge areas designed for the Qatari royal family, instead of giving the plane the more office-and-workspace-oriented design of the current Air Force One, two U.S. officials said.
In its statement, the Air Force said that “by making minimal changes to the previous head-of-state interior” the service was able to field the aircraft faster and retain the security features required.
The interior design of the plane was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
For months, L3Harris has overhauled the jet, but the Air Force has released very few details about the aircraft, saying that almost all of the information is classified. L3Harris declined to comment on work it has performed on the aircraft.
The Qatari plane is a “bridge” program to satisfy Trump, who has grown frustrated with production delays and cost growth as Boeing has worked to retrofit two other 747s to serve as the new Air Force One. The Air Force awarded the contract to purchase two 747s for Boeing to retrofit in 2017, during Trump’s first term in office.
The schedule on those planes has slipped to the point that they may not be ready before the end of Trump’s second term. So instead, the Pentagon accepted the Qatari jet and worked to get it ready for this summer, at a cheaper price tag.
In May, when Pentagon officials told lawmakers that the total cost to overhaul the plane had not exceeded $400 million, lawmakers questioned why the cost to overhaul the two other jets was so much more - and whether that meant the new plane would not be as capable as the planned future aircraft. The Government Accountability Office has estimated that the costs to get the two other 747s operational now exceed $5.6 billion.
A few of the modifications that were not made to save money included not widening the lower front door of the aircraft or its rear access door, “which will eventually be needed on the final aircraft to accommodate a presidential casket,” the Air Force said.
The service also did not make some interior changes to adjust the floors of the aircraft for height requirements, or include multiple sets of air stairs for arrival or departure, the service said.
The transition will cap more than a year of controversy as Democrats and some Republicans criticized the highly unusual arrangement with Qatar, which has raised ethical, legal and national security concerns.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the $400 million jet as an unconditional “donation” to the Defense Department, which is responsible for its maintenance.
Democrats have derided the donation as a bribe and raised concerns about taxpayer funds being used to secure and update a plane that will only be used for the remainder of Trump’s term. The plane is expected to be gifted to Trump’s presidential library at the end of his tenure. The president has released AI-generated renderings of the library project that include a large jet displayed in its lobby.
It was not immediately clear where Trump would travel on his first flight in the new plane. Trump is considering attending a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in early July in celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, but the trip has not yet been finalized, according to a senior administration official.
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Natalie Allison contributed to this report.
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Edwards Air Force Base in California released the names of the eight people killed when a B-52 Stratofortress crashed June 15 during a routine test mission.
Among the victims were active duty members of the U.S. Air Force, Boeing employees, and a government contractor.
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