Air Force Readies Interim Air Force One for Trump This Summer
The U.S. Air Force has finished modifying and testing a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar and expects it to be ready for President Donald Trump to use this summer as interim air force one. The jet is now being painted red, white and blue, and it will serve as a bridge until Boeing can deliver new aircraft.
Air Force officials used the word “bridge” for the former Qatari plane, reflecting the gap between the current presidential fleet and Boeing’s replacement schedule. Boeing is now expected to deliver a pair of new aircraft in 2028, after a program that has faced nearly a decade of delays.
Pete Hegseth and the Qatar jet
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury jet a year ago. Air Force officials then leased a 747-8 freighter from Atlas Air between October and February so pilots could get familiar with the latest variant. The United States also purchased two jets from the German carrier Lufthansa for training and spare parts.
The donated aircraft is being prepared after Boeing stopped building 747s in 2023. Boeing has been retrofitting 747s originally built for a now-defunct Russian airliner, while the two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades.
Trump and Boeing delays
Trump has described the delayed replacement effort as “a total mess” and defended the Qatar gift as “a way to save tax dollars.” The former Qatari jet gives the Air Force a temporary option while the new aircraft remain years away.
That leaves the presidential fleet in a holding pattern until Boeing’s 2028 delivery target. The key operational question now is whether the modified 747 can carry the load of a temporary presidential aircraft while the older planes continue in service.
