US officials have formally bid farewell to one of the two legendary Boeing 747s that have served as Air Force One for more than three decades, fuelling speculation that a controversial replacement, gifted by Qatar, is poised to take to the skies.
Following the aircraft’s return from a G7 summit in France, members of Donald Trump’s administration shared public tributes to the ageing plane. Steven Cheung, the president’s communications director, referred to the final flight as “The Last Ride” in a social media post, while US Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley commended the aircraft’s extensive service history. Crowley noted that the heavily modified VC-25A had transported every American leader since George H.W. Bush, describing the jet as a "cosy" vessel, albeit an older one.
The retirement of the veteran aircraft has naturally drawn attention to its expected successor: a Boeing 747 donated to Trump by the Gulf state of Qatar. The US Air Force confirmed recently that the new aircraft, formally designated as the VC-25B Bridge, has concluded its flight testing. It is scheduled to join the active executive fleet shortly, operating alongside the remaining VC-25A and the smaller C-32 aircraft used for shorter runways.
According to domestic reports, the president may inaugurate the new jet during a scheduled visit to Mount Rushmore next month to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. The aircraft is expected to debut in a redesigned red, white, and blue livery favoured by Trump.
The integration of a foreign-donated aircraft into the presidential fleet has, however, provoked substantial domestic scrutiny. Valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the Qatari gift has triggered ethical and constitutional debates regarding the appropriateness of a sitting president accepting such extravagant assets from a foreign government.
Furthermore, defence experts have voiced security concerns about retrofitting a donated plane to meet the rigorous safety requirements of the US commander-in-chief. Air Force One is globally renowned for its highly classified defensive capabilities, which typically include advanced radar-jamming technology, flare dispensers to blind heat-seeking missiles, and chaff mechanisms to disrupt radar-guided threats.
Trump has consistently defended the acquisition, pointing to the deteriorating condition of the current presidential fleet. Last year, he argued it would be “stupid” to reject the Pentagon-acquired gift, and he has indicated that the Qatari plane will eventually be preserved as an exhibit at his future presidential library.
Meanwhile, a long-standing US government contract with aerospace manufacturer Boeing to construct two brand-new 747-8 aircraft for the official executive fleet remains hindered by extensive manufacturing delays and severe budget overruns.
