- The U.S. has accepted a Boeing 747 jetliner gifted by Qatar's government to be upgraded for President Trump's use.
- Turning the plane into a new Air Force One could be expensive and take years to complete.
- Boeing's work on two future Air Force Ones are years behind schedule.
The U.S. has officially accepted the government of Qatar’s gift of a 747 jetliner, and the Air Force will now begin working to rapidly upgrade the aircraft so that it can be used as a new Air Force One for President Donald Trump.
“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said, according to The New York Times. “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.”
The plane is estimated to be worth around $200 million and will require extensive work before it is secure enough to carry the president.
Qatar’s gift has drawn concern from members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, “who worry that Qatar may be trying to improperly influence Trump, or that the plane itself might have listening devices,” per The New York Times.
Turning the plane into Air Force One
The Department of Defense now has to work to ensure the jet fulfills “proper security measures and functional-mission requirements,” Parnell said, according to The New York Times.
The Air Force has been asked to modify the plane quickly and now has to figure out how to do that.
“Any civilian aircraft will take significant modifications to do so,” Troy Meink, the Air Force secretary, said on Tuesday during Senate testimony, per The New York Times. “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.”
According to CNBC, experts say it could cost over $1 billion and take years to finish the necessary modifications for the Qatari plane to carry the president.
For the past few years, Boeing has been working to convert two 747s into the next Air Force Ones, following a deal struck during Trump’s first presidential term. The project is currently years behind schedule and it is unknown if the planes will be ready before the end of Trump’s second term.
The president has been frustrated with how long those planes are taking and officials have said he was considering alternatives. “Boeing’s a little late, unfortunately,” Trump said Wednesday, according to CNBC.
In order to carry the president, the aircraft has to protect against physical threats such as missiles or the effects of nuclear weapons, and it also needs to be retrofitted against counterintelligence and surveillance risks, according to USA Today.
The plan to turn the Qatari jet into an Air Force One has drawn concern from members of Congress, who worry that the work will be done too fast and so sufficient security measures will not be built in.
“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,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said as Meink was testifying, according to The New York Times.
So far, there isn’t an estimate of when the work on the Qatari plane could be finished, but the White House has said the president wants it done soon, possibly by the end of the year.
“We will make sure that we do what’s necessary to ensure security of the aircraft,” Meink said at the Senate 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.”