President Donald Trump says the Boeing 747 donated by Qatar and converted for presidential travel will be taken out of service for additional upgrades, renewing questions about the differences between the interim aircraft and purpose-built Air Force One jets.
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump said the aircraft would be sent away in about a month to be “maxed out” with additional capabilities. He did not provide a schedule for the work, its cost or a list of planned systems.
The Defense Department accepted the former Qatari aircraft in 2025. The Air Force then modified it as a temporary or “bridge” presidential plane while two new VC-25B aircraft remain under development.
The converted jet entered presidential service in June. It was designed as a luxury civilian airliner, not from the beginning as an airborne command center, so its rapid conversion has drawn questions from lawmakers, aviation specialists and former national-security officials.
Turkey flight highlighted the differences
Trump flew the converted jet to a NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month but departed on one of the older VC-25A presidential aircraft as U.S.-Iran hostilities intensified. NBC News reported that the Secret Service recommended the switch because of security considerations. Trump disputed that account and said the older airplane was used in connection with a stop that allowed service members to tour the newer one.
The Air Force has said the bridge aircraft was fielded without accepting risk to security, safety or secure communications. It also acknowledged that several complex engineering modifications planned for the final VC-25B aircraft were intentionally left out of the rapid conversion.
Specific presidential-aircraft defenses are classified. Purpose-built Air Force One planes are generally expected to provide secure global communications, protection against certain airborne threats, extensive medical and staff facilities and the ability to support presidential decision-making during a crisis. Public reporting cannot establish which precise systems are present or absent on the converted jet.
The Qatari donation has also generated legal and ethics criticism because of its estimated value of about $400 million. The administration has argued that accepting and modifying the aircraft saves time and money while Boeing works on the delayed replacements.
The announced upgrade period suggests that the current configuration is not the aircraft’s final form. Until the Air Force releases a schedule and budget, the duration and taxpayer cost of the next round of work remain unknown.
Sources: NBC News, Associated Press reporting and Breaking Defense.
