The Boeing 747 jet that Qatar gave to the U.S. last year for use as a new Air Force One will be ready for service by this summer, according to the Air Force.
The jet, which will serve as a temporary presidential plane while the Air Force finishes long-term replacements, has “officially completed modification and flight testing” and is currently being painted, the Air Force said.
“The aircraft is on schedule to roll out in a new red, white and blue livery this summer,” the Air Force wrote in a statement on Friday.
The jet has inspired controversy since the government accepted it last May. Critics argued the gift posed national security risks, ran afoul of constitutional prohibitions on foreign gifts to the president, and was ethically dubious, given Qatar’s support for U.S. adversaries including the terror group Hamas.
Retrofitting the ex-Qatari jet proved no less complicated, and the 747 recently underwent a reported $400 million overhaul that included installing top-secret communications gear and deconstructing parts of the interior to sweep for spy technology.
The military focused on modifying the security and technical aspects of the jet, largely keeping the lavish interior from the plane’s Qatar days, including its plush couches, faux library bookcases, and oversize leather seats. Arabic-language signs were reportedly removed.
“By and large, the airplane that we’re getting is in the same condition from an interior perspective,” Gen. Dale White, the four-star Air Force official managing the overhaul, told The Wall Street Journal.
“The level of detail that the foreign nations put into their head-of-state airplanes are very different than the approach that the United States uses, which is a lot more utility focused,” he added.
The president didn’t instruct the Air Force about what to do with the interior, but he was the one who selected the plane’s forthcoming red, white and blue exterior design, officials told the outlet. The jet will reportedly have fewer refrigerators than the existing Air Force One models, and it will not have a dedicated press cabin. Instead, it will use a thick curtain to separate media members and administration officials.
The Independent has contacted the White House and Air Force for comment.
The Air Force first began looking for a 747-8 to use as a fill-in jet in December 2024, according to the military. The Air Force settled on Qatar’s jet to serve as a “bridge” until two new 747’s are ready to serve the White House full-time.
After the U.S. accepted the Qatari jet in May of 2025, President Trump attacked ABC News for critical coverage of the gift.
“The wonderful country of Qatar, after agreeing to invest more than 1.4 Trillion Dollars in the United States of America, deserves much better than Misleading (Fake!) News,” he wrote on social media at the time. “Everyone, including their lawyers, has been told that ABC must not say that Qatar is giving ME a FREE Boeing 747 Airplane, because they are not.”
“Instead, and as Fake News ABC fully knows and understands, this highly respected country is donating the plane to the United States Air Force/ Defense Department, AND NOT TO ME,” he added.
Once Trump leaves office, the jet will reportedly be transferred to his presidential library foundation.
Recently released renderings of the library, which will be housed in a Miami skyscraper, show a presidential jet in the lobby.
