US aims for Fourth of July to deploy Qatar-gifted jet as latest Air Force One
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The White House accepted the luxury jet from Qatar in 2025 and asked the Air Force to rapidly upgrade the aircraft to presidential standards.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Qatar gifted a luxury 747, upgraded by L3Harris for presidential standards, targeting July 4th delivery. The US$400m jet faces conflict of interest criticisms.
- Boeing's official Air Force One replacement programme is four years behind schedule, costing over US$5 billion and risking Trump's use before his term ends.
- The Air Force unveiled a new red, blue, gold paint scheme for its executive fleet, including the VC-25B, replacing the Kennedy-era livery.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - The US Air Force is targeting a Fourth of July delivery for a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that would join the Air Force One fleet in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary, a US official and a person familiar with the programme said.
The White House accepted the luxury jet from Qatar in 2025 and asked the Air Force to rapidly upgrade the aircraft to presidential standards, with L3Harris tapped to carry out the overhaul.
If the company meets its deadline, President Donald Trump will have a new presidential aircraft in time for the national celebrations.
The person said there were efforts to possibly deliver the jet three weeks earlier to align with Mr Trump’s birthday on June 14, ahead of the July 4 deadline.
The Qatari gift has drawn criticism from Democrats and advocates of good government, who warned it was a conflict of interest that could influence presidential decisions.
Mr Trump has dismissed complaints of accepting the 13-year-old airplane with a US$400 million (S$500 million) list price, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer.
There are two modified 747-200B aircraft in the current specialised Air Force One fleet. Any Air Force plane on which the US president travels is called Air Force One.
Retrofitting the luxury plane offered by Qatar’s royal family requires security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent spies from listening in and the ability to fend off incoming missiles, experts have said.
An Air Force spokesperson said, “The aircraft is on schedule to deliver this summer.”
The aircraft has completed modification and flight testing and is now being painted, the Air Force said on May 1.
Official replacement jets delayed
The official Air Force One replacement programme - Boeing’s effort to convert two 747-8 aircraft into next-generation presidential jets - is four years behind schedule, with delivery not expected until mid-2028.
That risks leaving Mr Trump without his prized new planes before his term ends in January 2029.
Boeing is locked in a fixed-price contract worth US$3.9 billion in 2018, but costs have since ballooned to over US$5 billion, with the company posting US$2.4 billion in charges against earnings from the project. In a bid to steady the ship, Boeing in 2025 hired Mr Steve Sullivan, a former Northrop Grumman executive who worked on the B-21 bomber programme, to lead the effort.
The Air Force recently unveiled a new paint scheme in red, white, dark blue and gold for its executive airlift fleet - reviving a colour palette Mr Trump had long pushed for. An earlier version of that design was scrapped in 2022.
The new livery will be applied to the VC-25B - the military designation for the Boeing 747-8 - replacing the white and two-tone blue scheme that has been in place since the Kennedy era. Four Boeing 757-200s used by the vice-president, Cabinet members and other senior officials will also be repainted.
In December, the Air Force purchased two former Lufthansa 747-8i aircraft for US$400 million - one to serve as a dedicated trainer for aircrew and maintainers, and one to be used for spare parts as it prepares to eventually retire the current fleet, which has been in service since 1990. REUTERS
