By Mike Stone
WASHINGTON, June 19 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday got a look at his upgraded Boeing 747, a plane gifted by Qatar, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as the aircraft neared delivery to join the Air Force One fleet.
"This is considered the world's most luxurious plane. When it was built, it was built at a level that will probably never be seen again," Trump told a crowd in a new hangar at the base.
The jumbo aircraft, offered by Qatar as a gift last year, was overhauled by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies and has been flight-tested and painted in a red, white, dark blue and gold livery chosen by Trump, marking a departure from the iconic design used on Air Force One for decades.
Trump said the upgrade was necessary to keep pace with more modern aircraft flown by foreign leaders.
“These countries have a lot of respect for us, and yet they have a plane that’s much newer and much better. It’s a little ridiculous,” Trump said.
Trump said the rest of the Air Force One fleet will have the new design.
The addition to Trump's fleet provides a more modern and luxurious plane that the president, his aides, security detail and the media will travel in. The upgrade's cost has not been disclosed and it was done so quickly that some experts fear it may not be as secure as the existing Air Force One aircraft.
The Air Force's fast-track effort skipped some planned modifications for the next-generation presidential jet in order to deliver an interim version sooner, but officials said it was up to presidential standards.
“The safety and security of the commander in chief is our highest priority," Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in a statement on Friday. "From the beginning, we meticulously evaluated every requirement to accelerate delivery while maintaining the high standards expected of the presidential mission."
JULY 4 WASHINGTON FLYOVER
Trump told the crowd the aircraft will lead a formation he described as the “biggest flyover in American history” during a July 4 ceremony scheduled for the National Mall.
“This is going to lead a group of many, many planes,” Trump said.
Trump returned from Europe on Thursday morning aboard a military-grade Boeing 747-200 that has served U.S. presidents for more than three decades. Trump said it was the aircraft’s final trip, adding that it would ultimately be placed in a museum.
The U.S. government's acceptance of the luxury 747 from Qatar raised questions about whether it was an inappropriately expensive gift. Trump dismissed criticism of the arrangement, saying it would be "stupid" to turn down the offer.
Retrofitting the luxury plane required security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent eavesdropping, and missile defense capabilities, experts said. Democratic senators estimated the conversion could cost more than $1 billion and raised security risks.
The Qatari jet is serving as a bridge aircraft while Boeing works to deliver two purpose-built 747-8s under a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract signed in 2018. That program is four years behind schedule, with delivery not expected until mid-2028 — a delay that risks leaving Trump without a new plane before his term ends in January 2029. Costs on the Boeing program have ballooned to more than $5 billion, with the company posting $2.4 billion in charges against earnings from the project.
The new color scheme marks a departure from the white and two-tone blue design dating to President John F. Kennedy's administration. The Air Force revived elements of a red, white and blue palette that Trump had previously pushed for but which was scrapped in 2022 after the service determined darker colors could cause overheating.
The new red, white, dark blue and gold livery will also be applied to the VC-25B — the military designation for the Boeing 747-8 — and to four modified Boeing 757-200s used to transport the vice president, cabinet members and other senior officials.
(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Stephen Coates, Edmund Klamann and Alistair Bell)
