Converting a Qatar-donated Boeing 747 into a new Air Force One for President Donald Trump could require vast sums of money, take years to complete and may introduce alarming capability shortcomings and security vulnerabilities into the chief executive’s aircraft, aviation experts said.
ABC News first reported Sunday that the Trump administration is preparing to accept a luxurious 747-8 from Qatar’s royal family, worth roughly $400 million, to be used as an Air Force One for much of the rest of his term. The Air Force would take possession of the 13-year-old plane and modify it to be suitable for presidential use, ABC reported, and it would be transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation by the end of 2028.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that L3Harris had been tapped to convert a Qatari 747 in Texas into an interim Air Force One, to be finished later this year.
Richard Aboulafia, an expert in military aircraft and managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, said that even setting aside ethical concerns, accepting that plane to be an Air Force One would be troublesome for a host of reasons.
“It’s all based on an embarrassing misunderstanding of what Air Force One is meant to do,” Aboulafia said. “If it’s a gold-plated palace in the sky and nothing more, have at it. If it’s an actual tool [to be used in a] worst-case contingency [like nuclear war], then this ain’t it.”
Boeing was originally meant to deliver the two new Air Force One jets in 2024 under the VC-25B program. That deadline has slid repeatedly amid pandemic snarls, supply chain problems and other troubles that have stressed the company.
The Air Force first announced a pair of 747-8s would become the new presidential aircraft in 2015. But the cost displeased Trump, and his first administration engaged in hardball negotiations with Boeing to bring the price down. Trump has lost patience with Boeing’s delays on the program and made his displeasure with the company known.
The new Air Force Ones now might not be ready until 2029, after Trump leaves office, but an Air Force official last week told lawmakers that changes to the requirements are now being considered that could allow the plane to be delivered in 2027.
Boeing and L3Harris declined to comment. The Air Force referred queries to the White House.
Trump addressed the potential 747 deal in a Truth Social post Sunday evening, in which he asserted “the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE,” of the aircraft.
Air Force One is not only used to ferry the president of the United States around the world; it is also meant to be a flying situation room that would allow the commander-in-chief to direct the U.S. military and government during a major catastrophe, such as World War III.
Such airplanes have been upgraded with capabilities including secure communications systems, military-grade power systems and classified self-defense systems to protect the president against a hostile attack, as well as a medical facility.
Air Force One aircraft have “one of the most exquisite comms suites on the planet,” said Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “It functions as a command and control center under some of the most trying conditions [imaginable]. Even just day-to-day, that thing is hyper connected.”
Past Air Force Ones have also been built with redundancies to ensure critical systems can continue operating if something fails, Aboulafia said, as well as survive and keep operating during a nuclear war.
“If [Trump] wants all the capabilities and features of Air Force One, this would be a step backwards,” Aboulafia said. “They’d have to start over again with what they’ve been working on with the other 747-8” under the VC-25B program.
Upgrading a 747 from scratch with those capabilities could take into the 2030s, Aboulafia said, and cost “billions and billions” of dollars.
“Even the ability to manage and communicate with military forces all over the globe with encrypted comms — that’s a tremendously expensive undertaking,” Aboulafia said. “It is underway in the other 747-8s [slated for the VC-25B program], has been for years. Starting over again with the same plane would take a lot longer.”
Aerial refueling is one feature that previous Air Force Ones have boasted that could be left out of an adapted Qatari 747. That capability was also struck from the VC-25B aircraft.
Air Force One must also have perhaps the highest level of information security on the planet, as the president could be using it to steer the nation through a nuclear war if one erupted.
Aboulafia said that the provision of an aircraft from the Qatar royal family is highly concerning, and the plane would need to be thoroughly examined and swept for listening devices. This would likely require deep dives into its inner workings, he said.
“It would present a major security concern,” Aboulafia said.
When asked if it’s feasible to upgrade a 747-8 into an Air Force One in a matter of months — while the current VC-25B jets have been in the works for the better part of a decade — Birkey said it depends on what the military and administration decide must go into the plane.
“The timeline involved fundamentally depends on the scale and scope of the requirements,” Birkey said.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
