The U.S. military has been tasked with assessing how to quickly modify a Boeing 747 aircraft gifted by Qatar so it can serve as a new version of Air Force One for President Trump, a Defense Department official confirmed on Wednesday.
“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the president of the United States.”
While industry sources estimate the aircraft is valued at around $200 million, Pentagon leaders have acknowledged that significant alterations will be necessary before it can meet the stringent safety and security standards required for a presidential aircraft.
“Any civilian aircraft will take significant modifications to do so,” Troy Meink, the Air Force secretary, testified before the Senate on Tuesday. “Based on the secretary’s direction, we are postured and we’re off looking at that right now, what it’s going to take for that particular aircraft.”
President Trump confirmed the donation during remarks made at the White House.
“They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, and it’s a great thing,” he stated.
Some lawmakers are uneasy about the timeline, raising alarms that the push to fast-track the aircraft’s conversion might compromise the installation of vital defense systems, including those that guard against missile attacks or nuclear-related threats.
“If President Trump insists on converting this plane to a hardened Air Force One before 2029, I worry about the pressures you may be under to cut corners on operational security,” Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois warned during Meink’s testimony.
Although the administration has expressed eagerness to put the plane into service as early as year’s end, the Defense Department has yet to offer a specific timeline for completing the modifications.
“We will make sure that we do what’s necessary to ensure security of the aircraft,” Meink said at the hearing. “I will be quite clear and discuss that with the secretary up to the president if necessary if we feel there’s any threats that we are unable to address.”
The plane’s origin has also stirred bipartisan skepticism on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers from both sides are questioning whether Qatar may be seeking undue influence—or whether the aircraft might be equipped with surveillance devices.
In his first public comments on the matter Monday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani rejected those suspicions and defended the gesture.
“I don’t know why people, they are thinking,” he said, before continuing “this is considered as a bribery or considered as, something that Qatar wants to buy and influence with this administration. I don’t see any, honestly, a valid reason for that.”
He went on to say: “We are a country that would like to have strong partnership and strong friendship, and anything that we provide to any country, it’s provided out of respect for this partnership and it’s a two-way relationship. It’s mutually beneficial for Qatar and for the United States.”
This new aircraft will join two other 747s that are currently undergoing conversion for presidential use, replacing a pair of aging jets that have served as Air Force One for more than three decades.
However, the cost of maintaining three aircraft is substantial. The Pentagon estimates annual expenses of $135 million per plane. Additionally, retrofitting the Qatari 747 could exceed $1 billion and may take longer than completing the existing Boeing Air Force One project, according to former Air Force officials.
The Air Force recently announced that the first of the two original Boeing-contracted planes is slated for delivery in 2027.
There is also uncertainty about how the government will pay for the new plane’s conversion and upkeep. Traditionally, such large-scale defense expenditures must receive congressional approval. But President Trump has a track record of proceeding with federal spending initiatives without always consulting Congress.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota commented that lawmakers will be closely examining the situation should the plane actually be slated for use.
“If and when it’s no longer a hypothetical, I can assure you there will be plenty of scrutiny of whatever that arrangement might look like,” Mr. Thune said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York took things a step further on Wednesday, stating that he plans to introduce legislation to block the U.S. from accepting the aircraft.
The Senate, he said in a statement, must “prioritize our national security, protect Americans and ensure that a foreign-owned plane never gets the call sign ‘Air Force One.’”
The aircraft in question first flew in 2012 and was later remodeled with luxury interiors for the Qatari royal family. However, Qatar has reportedly been trying to offload the plane for about five years.
An aircraft broker told The New York Times that the aircraft has proven difficult to sell because four-engine jets like the 747 are no longer in high demand—most world leaders now prefer twin-engine jets, which are cheaper to operate and maintain.
Marc J. Foulkrod, CEO of Avjet Global Sales, which had been involved in trying to find a buyer, argued that accelerating the current Boeing project would be a more cost-effective approach.
“I’ve done completions on big airplanes, and there’s always ways to accelerate the program,” Mr. Foulkrod said in an interview. “That’s a better dollar value than trying to take an airplane from somebody else.”
Flight tracking data shows that the Qatari 747 has been parked at an aircraft maintenance facility in San Antonio since early last month. Officials from the Trump administration have indicated that L3Harris, a defense contractor, may be tapped to carry out the conversion work, though no official agreement has been announced.
In a statement released Wednesday, the Air Force confirmed it is “preparing to award a contract to modify a Boeing 747 aircraft for executive airlift. Details related to the contract are classified.”
Congress has not yet formally agreed to accept the plane as a gift from Qatar, a step required under the Constitution when a president is offered a high-value present from a foreign entity. President Trump has emphasized that the plane was presented to the United States—not to him personally.
During a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, President Trump made light of the situation.
“I am sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Mr. Ramaphosa told Mr. Trump.
{Matzav.com}