- The aircraft joins the Air Force One fleet after an extensive refit.
- Jet introduces new red, white, blue and gold colors.
- Trump announces planned visits to Turkiye and China.
President Donald Trump on Friday took a look at his upgraded Boeing 747, a plane gifted by Qatar, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as the plane neared delivery to join the Air Force One fleet.
The jumbo jet, offered by Qatar as a gift to the president last year, was refurbished by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies and has been flight tested and painted in Trump’s chosen colors of red, white, dark blue and gold.
The addition to Trump’s fleet provides a more modern and luxurious plane on which the president, his aides, security team and the media will travel. The cost of the upgrade has not been disclosed and it was done so quickly that some experts fear it will not be as safe as the existing Air Force One plane.
The Air Force’s accelerated effort skipped some planned modifications to the next-generation presidential plane so it could deliver an interim version sooner, but officials said it was up to presidential standards.
“The safety of the commander in chief is our top priority,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a statement Friday. “From the beginning, we meticulously evaluated each requirement to expedite delivery while maintaining the high standards expected of the presidential mission.”
The US government’s acceptance of Qatar’s luxury 747 raised questions about whether it was an inappropriately expensive gift. Trump dismissed criticism of the deal and said it would be “stupid” to reject the offer.
The modernization of the luxury plane required security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent eavesdropping and missile defense capabilities, experts said. Democratic senators estimated the conversion could cost more than $1 billion and would increase security risks.
The Qatari plane serves as a bridge plane as Boeing works to deliver two specially designed 747-8s under a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract signed in 2018. That program is four years behind schedule with delivery not expected until mid-2028, a delay that risks leaving Trump without a new plane before his term ends in January 2029. Boeing program costs have ballooned to more than $5 billion, and the company recorded $2.4 billion in charges against earnings. of the project.
The new color scheme marks a departure from the two-tone white and blue design that dates back to President John F. Kennedy’s administration.
The Air Force revived elements of a red, white and blue palette that Trump had previously pushed, but which was scrapped in 2022 after the service determined that darker colors could cause overheating.
The new red, white, dark blue and gold colors will also be applied to the VC-25B (the military designation for the Boeing 747-8) and four modified Boeing 757-200s used to transport the vice president, Cabinet members and other senior officials.
Trump announces visits to China and Turkiye
President Trump said he will go to Turkiye and make another trip to China sometime in 2026.
“We are doing a lot of traveling. We will go to Turkiye. At some point this year we will return to China,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, presenting the Boeing 747 aircraft gifted by Qatar that will join the Air Force One fleet.
“President Xi (Jinping) will come here in September, but we will return for a big conference that will take place in China,” Trump added.
