Will a 747-8i gifted by Qatar be the next ‘Air Force One’?
May 20, 2025
Comparing Air Force One to VIP aircraft operated by the Gulf monarchies, Trump noted that: “You see ours next to it. This is like a totally different plane. It’s much smaller and less impressive, as impressive as it is. We are the United States of America I believe we should have the most impressive plane.”
In May 2025, the royal family of Qatar formally offered to give the US Government a ‘surplus’ Boeing 747-8KB (P4-HBJ, previously A7-HBJ) to use as an interim Air Force One. The gift was initially interpreted as being a personal gift to Donald Trump, triggering controversy and allegations of corruption. Concerns were expressed that the acquisition of the aircraft could violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution.
The Boston Globe described the deal as an example of an increasingly transactional presidency, showing that Trump was “willing to bend for anyone who gives him what he craves: praise, prestige, and a cut of the profits.”
It was expected that the aircraft would have been used by Donald Trump after he left office, transferring from US DoD ownership to that of the Trump Presidential library for post-presidency travel. But when the story broke in the US media, the prime minister of Qatar was quick to explain that donating the aircraft had always been intended to be a “government-to-government transaction.”
Trump himself took to social media to state that: “The fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE … so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane.” He also said that: “Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country.”
Though not announced until May 2025, the proposal to gift the aircraft to the US dates back to the beginning of Trump’s second term. The aircraft was flown to Palm Beach International Airport in Florida in February, where Trump inspected the aircraft before its return to Doha, Qatar.
The individual aircraft concerned is a lavishly and luxuriously appointed Boeing 747-8KB ‘BBJ’ (Boeing Business Jet), originally delivered to the Qatar Amiri Flight in April 2012 for use by the ruling House of Thani, and owned by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar. With an interior designed by Cabinet Alberto Pinto, with rugs from Tai Ping Carpets, sycamore and wacapou fixtures, and artwork from Alexander Calder, the aircraft has a main and guest bedroom, two bathrooms, nine lavatories, and several lounges, seating up to 89 people.
But in recent years, Qatar, like other Gulf states, has shifted towards using more economical and more versatile aircraft, which can operate from more airports, and provide a more discreet means for official travel, and has grounded or disposed of a number of its larger VIP aircraft. One Boeing 747-8 (VQ-BSK) was donated to Turkey having flown only 436 hours in 200 cycles, while A7-HBJ had flown just 1,069 hours in the five years before it was quietly put up for sale in 2020. This looks like heavy use compared to the lavish 747-8 commissioned for Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud before his death in 2011. This was scrapped in 2022 with just 42 flying hours ‘on the clock’.
In June 2023, ownership of A7-HBJ transferred to Global Jet Isle of Man, and the aircraft was re-registered with an Isle of Man (P4-) prefix.
Replacing Air Force One
The search for a VC-25A replacement began in earnest on 7 January 2009, when Air Force Materiel Command issued a new Sources Sought notice. The USAF wanted an initial replacement aircraft to enter service by 2017, with an additional two aircraft to follow in 2019 and 2021.
The Air Force announced the selection of the Boeing 747-8 to replace the VC-25A on 28 January 2015, with Boeing having been the only bidder.
On 10 May 2016, the Air Force authorized Boeing to begin preliminary design activities, and confirmed that two modified 747-8 aircraft would be procured. Further contracts were placed in 2016 covering cost and risk reduction opportunities.
The USAF purchased two 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8I) aircraft from Boeing for conversion. These had been ordered by Transaero, a Russian airline, in 2011 and then stored at Victorville when Transaero filed for bankruptcy. The White House announced a US $3.9 billion agreement with Boeing to modify the two 747-8s to VC-25B configuration, with the telecommunications and security equipment required for a presidential aircraft.
In June 2019, President Trump announced that the VC-25B would wear a new red, white, and blue colour scheme rather than the Raymond Loewy livery scheme introduced in 1962 during the Kennedy administration, and reportedly designed with input from Jaccqueline Kennedy, the then-President’s wife.
The Trump design was abandoned by the Biden administration citing “additional engineering, as well as increased time and cost.” Trump now plans to revert to ‘his’ scheme on the new ex-Qatari jet, and probably on the VC-25Bs too. “We are painting it red, white, and blue like the American flag which is incredible. Much more beautiful and much more representative of us,” Trump said.
Modification work on the ex-Transaero 747s began at Boeing’s San Antonio facility in 2020, but development has been delayed by what the Wall St Journal called multiple “production mishaps.” In April 2022, Boeing’s then CEO Dave Calhoun said that he expected the company to record a loss of $660 million on the VC-25B program, after the contract was renegotiated by President Trump. While the original delivery date was set to 2024, this has been delayed by supply chain issues, and by problems with workers’ security clearances, and is now expected in 2029. The Air Force has proposed changes to the requirements to bring the delivery date back to 2027. Costs have risen to at least US $4.7 billion, and Boeing has posted $2.4 billion of charges from the project.
Bringing the ex-Qatari aircraft up to a suitable standard will not be straightforward, and could take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, or even up to one billion dollars, according to some estimates. The aircraft already requires some work. The sales brochure prepared in 2020 noted that the aircraft was due for a landing gear overhaul in 2024 and a 12-year check in 2027.
The aircraft will need to be stripped down and carefully screened for bugs or covert intelligence gathering equipment. Then a decision would need to be taken as to whether this ‘interim’ Air Force One would need to be hardened against Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP, normally a key requirement of AF1), and whether it would need the usual suite of encrypted communications systems and defensive aids systems, and even an air-to-air refuelling capability.
EMP hardening may be impractical, since it would require a complete rewiring, and the replacement of almost all avionics systems. “That’s not something you add on,” observed one expert commentator. Without it, the new ‘interim Air Force One’ would not be fully survivable, since it could not function if exposed to the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast.
As Commander in Chief, Trump could waive or relax these requirements. Without any such relaxation, it is understood that the aircraft could be limited to flying in US airspace only, unless accompanied by a fighter escort. Trump might decide that in times of elevated tension, he would have to use one of the old VC-25As, freeing the interim aircraft from needing to be capable of issuing orders to military and government agencies in the event of war or another emergency, or of serving as a secure communications centre, and from being able to command and control nuclear forces.
Many believe that the aircraft could not be brought to the required standard within less than four or five years.
In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US federal government had already commissioned L3Harris to modify the 747-8KB at San Antonio International Airport. It is not clear whether Trump will override current Air Force security rules and remove the requirement that anyone working on the project should have a high-level ‘Yankee White’ security clearance.
