US to deploy Qatari 747 gifted to Trump as Air Force One by July – report

Controversial conversion of luxury Qatari 747 jet, gifted to President Donald Trump by Doha, into Air Force One nearly complete.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States Air Force has nearly completed its conversion of a luxury jet donated by the Qatari royal family into an official air transport of the president of the United States, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

According to an American official and a person familiar with the conversion work, the Air Force is aiming to have the Boeing 747 donated by Qatar ready to join the Air Force One fleet by July 4, in time for the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The two sources told Reuters that the aircraft could be delivered even earlier, possibly around President Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14.

The Air Force said the plane has completed modification and flight testing and is now being painted. “The aircraft is on schedule to deliver this summer,” an Air Force spokesperson said.

The White House accepted the luxury 747 from Qatar in 2025 and asked the Air Force to quickly upgrade it for presidential use.

L3Harris Technologies was tapped to carry out the overhaul, which includes security upgrades, secure communications and defensive systems.

The gift has drawn criticism from Democrats, ethics watchdogs, and even some conservatives who said accepting an aircraft from a foreign government could create a conflict of interest.

Trump has dismissed the criticism, saying it would be “stupid” to reject the plane.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth formally accepted the aircraft, and the Pentagon said the arrangement complied with federal rules.

The conversion of the interim Air Force One aircraft comes as Boeing’s official Air Force One replacement program remains years behind schedule.

The company is converting two Boeing 747-8 aircraft into next-generation presidential jets, known as VC-25Bs, but delivery is not expected until mid-2028.

Boeing’s 2018 fixed-price contract was valued at $3.9 billion, but program costs have since risen above $5 billion, Reuters reported.

The new aircraft will also reflect Trump’s preferred color scheme. The Air Force recently unveiled a red, white, dark blue and gold livery for the executive airlift fleet, replacing the white and two-tone blue design used since the Kennedy era.

The scheme will be applied to the VC-25B aircraft and several Boeing 757-200s used by senior officials.

Any Air Force aircraft carrying the president is designated Air Force One. The current presidential fleet includes two modified Boeing 747-200B aircraft that have been in service since 1990.

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