converted Qatar – President Donald Trump unveiled a newly converted Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews—an older Boeing 747-8 previously owned by Qatar that will serve as a “bridge” until new jets ordered from Boeing arrive. Trump said he will take the aircraft to a NATO summit
When President Donald Trump stepped onto the new Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, it wasn’t just a ceremonial tour—it was a statement about what his administration wants flying over the country and the world.
Inside a massive hangar on Friday. with a couple hundred Air Force personnel gathered and the track “God Bless the USA” playing. Trump said the plane had been transformed into a “flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before.” He had just stepped off the aircraft in a dramatic flourish. then returned to the jet’s message—bold colors. a prominent presidential seal where he boards. and a massive American flag across the tail.
The look is a departure from the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old Air Force One. The new jet’s underbelly is painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. “This plane was transformed,” Trump said, adding that the design was “to my taste.”
He didn’t leave the timing in doubt. Trump confirmed he would take the new aircraft to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey next month. He also indicated he would return to China “at some point. ” which he appeared to tie to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. For context. Trump said his return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One.
Trump also said the aircraft will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.
The jet at the center of the rollout is a former Qatari-owned Boeing 747-8 that the U.S. accepted as a gift and then converted for presidential use. The Air Force described the aircraft as serving as a “bridge” aircraft—carrying the president until new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That delivery timeline is currently slated for 2028.
Trump acknowledged the bottleneck, describing the U.S. as being in a “little bit of a logjam” as it waits for the new Boeing jets. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for use of one of their planes.
The politics of that arrangement have never been fully settled. The administration formally accepted the luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year. despite questions about the ethics and legality of taking an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has insisted in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office. and he said the aircraft would instead be donated to a future presidential library.
Friday, he framed the decision in blunt terms. “See, a normal president wouldn’t do this,” Trump said. “A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft. But our country has to be represented properly.”
The Air Force, for its part, moved quickly to address the technical and security side. In a news release Friday. the service said any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements.” It said the Qatari jet “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else. ” and that “much of the previous head of state interior layout” was kept intact.
The Air Force has said in the past that the security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.
Trump’s efforts to reinvent the presidential airplane predate this particular jet. During his first administration, he directed that an incoming fleet adopt a color scheme nearly identical to his personal airplane. Then-President Joe Biden reversed that decision in March 2023 after an Air Force review suggested the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets—but after Trump returned to office. he returned to his desired colors for the plane.
This time, it isn’t just the presidential aircraft getting the red, white, and navy scheme. Other government jets carrying other top administration officials will also use a similar color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.
Even with the new jet unveiled, the current Air Force One planes are not going anywhere. An Air Force spokesperson. speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans. told the Associated Press that the two current planes known as VC-25As will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until new Boeing planes—referred to as VC-25Bs—come into service.
How those older jets will be used is still unclear, but the spokesperson said both the Qatari jet and the VC-25As will be available for use. The Presidential Airlift Group, the spokesperson said, will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.
For Trump, the handoff is already scheduled to matter in the near term. Next month. the “bridge” aircraft will be the one flying to Ankara—leaving the question not of whether the aircraft can carry a president. but of how long the administration can stay comfortable with the political and ethical fallout that has followed the Qatari gift from the start.
Air Force One Donald Trump Qatar Boeing 747-8 Andrews Air Force Base VC-25A VC-25B NATO summit Ankara July 4 flyover presidential aircraft gift
So it’s basically a Qatar plane now?
They say “flying White House” but it’s just a fancy Boeing right? I’m confused why this had to be Qatar-owned in the first place.
Wait did they convert it and then he’s gonna fly to NATO already?? Like soon?? Also “bridge” until Boeing delivers… so Boeing is late and we just rent a whole 747? That’s what I heard anyway.
I don’t get the point of “God Bless the USA” playing while they unveil a jet that used to belong to Qatar. Feels like politics and branding more than anything. If it’s a 747-8 like they said, why not just fix up Air Force One like normal instead of making it “luxury that nobody has ever seen before.” And the NATO thing… Ankara next month? I’ll believe it when I see it, honestly.