U.S. Plans July 4 Air Force One Delivery Of Qatar-Gifted Boeing 747

The U.S. Air Force is targeting a Fourth of July delivery for a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that would join the Air Force One fleet in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the program. The White House accepted the luxury jet from Qatar in 2025 and asked the Air Force to rapidly upgrade the aircraft to presidential standards, with L3Harris tapped to carry out the overhaul. The person familiar with the program said there were efforts to possibly deliver the jet three weeks earlier to align with Trump’s birthday on June 14, ahead of the July 4 deadline. An Air Force spokesperson said, “The aircraft is on schedule to deliver this summer,” and the aircraft has completed modification and flight testing and is now being painted, the Air Force said on Friday.

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The Qatar gift has drawn criticism from Democrats and advocates of good government, who warned it was a conflict of interest that could influence presidential decisions, while President Donald Trump dismissed complaints about accepting the 13-year-old airplane with a $400 million list price. Trump said it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer, and the controversy has centered on the ethics and security implications of a foreign-donated aircraft. The Prime Minister of Qatar defended the decision at the Qatar Economic Forum, saying it is “an exchange between two countries,” and he added, “I don’t know why this would be considered a bribe or a way for Qatar to buy influence with this administration.” In the U.S., Chuck Schumer proposed a law that would prevent Trump from using any of his presidential aircraft if it came from a foreign country, as the dispute continued into the early months of his term.

While the Qatar-gifted 747 is being readied as a temporary substitute, the official Air Force One replacement program — Boeing’s effort to convert two 747-8 aircraft into next-generation presidential jets — is four years behind schedule, with delivery not expected until mid-2028. That delay risks leaving Trump without the new planes before his term ends in January 2029, as the program’s timeline continues to slip. Boeing is locked in a fixed-price contract worth $3.9 billion in 2018, but costs have since ballooned to over $5 billion, with the company posting $2.4 billion in charges against earnings from the project. The Air Force said the new paint scheme in red, white, dark blue and gold will be applied to the VC-25B, and it also plans to repaint four Boeing 757-200s used by the vice president and other senior officials.

“The Prime Minister of Qatar defended his country's decision to offer a luxurious plane to U”

Le Parisien