A large Boeing 747-8 aircraft painted in red, white, and blue with 'United States of America' on the fuselage inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews.
via REUTERS
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Trump Just Unveiled the New Air Force One, a $400 Million Plane Qatar Gave Him, and It’ll Fly Over Washington on July 4

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The new Air Force One is a $400 million luxury jet the U.S. accepted free from the Qatari government, and Trump unveiled it Friday inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews.

It’s technically a “bridge” plane, designated the VC-25B, meant to fill in until Boeing finally delivers the long-delayed next-gen Air Force One fleet in 2028.

“There will never be one like this,” Trump told the crowd of service members. “This is considered the world’s most luxurious plane.”

A large Boeing 747-8 jet with 'United States of America' lettering and red, white, and blue livery inside an aircraft hangar with an American flag overhead.
The newly unveiled VC-25B Boeing 747-8 — gifted by Qatar and destined to serve as Air Force One — sits inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 19, 2026, its red, white, and blue livery on full display beneath an American flag. Photo by U.S. Air Force via REUTERS.

The hangar itself had to be built from scratch because the 747-8 dwarfs the plane it replaces, a military-grade 747-2 that’s flown presidents for more than 30 years. One of those old VC-25As just had its farewell flight days earlier, when Trump flew home from Europe on it.

The Qatari jet kept most of its royal-family luxury interior, the leather seats and glossy wood paneling, while L3Harris spent the last year layering in secure communications and other classified upgrades at significant extra cost to taxpayers. It’s also been repainted in a bold red, white, dark blue, and gold livery, ditching the baby-blue scheme that’s defined Air Force One since the Kennedy era.

It still has to pass what the Air Force calls its “final exam,” a round of commissioning flights, before it can carry the president.

A man in a blue suit speaks at a presidential podium in front of a large white jet marked 'United States of America' with its boarding stairs deployed inside a hangar.
President Trump speaks at a podium bearing the presidential seal in front of the Qatar-gifted VC-25B at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 19, 2026, with the plane’s boarding stairs lowered behind him. Photo by Elizabeth Frantz / REUTERS.

The gift has drawn bipartisan criticism. Foreign government gifts to U.S. officials are usually capped around $50, and ethics and national security experts have flagged both the conflict-of-interest questions and the risk of flying the president on a plane that originated with a foreign monarchy. Trump has said he personally asked the Emir of Qatar about using it and brushed off the rest.

“Only a FOOL would not accept this gift on behalf of our Country,” he posted on Truth Social last year.

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A large Boeing 747-8 aircraft painted in red, white, and blue with 'United States of America' on the fuselage inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews.
via REUTERS
A large Boeing 747-8 jet with 'United States of America' lettering and red, white, and blue livery inside an aircraft hangar with an American flag overhead.
The newly unveiled VC-25B Boeing 747-8 — gifted by Qatar and destined to serve as Air Force One — sits inside a hangar at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 19, 2026, its red, white, and blue livery on full display beneath an American flag. Photo by U.S. Air Force via REUTERS.
A man in a blue suit speaks at a presidential podium in front of a large white jet marked 'United States of America' with its boarding stairs deployed inside a hangar.
President Trump speaks at a podium bearing the presidential seal in front of the Qatar-gifted VC-25B at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 19, 2026, with the plane's boarding stairs lowered behind him. Photo by Elizabeth Frantz REUTERS.