The current plane Trump uses for Air Force One is more than three decades old.
A Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar will temporarily be used as Air Force One starting this summer.
The U.S. Air Force announced on May 1 that the bridge aircraft, which will be used to temporarily transport President Donald Trump, had completed the necessary modifications and flight tests.
“This collective team did what many said couldn’t be done, and they did it with the safety, security, and gravity of the mission at the forefront of everything they did,” the Department of War’s reporting portfolio manager, Gen. Dale White, wrote in a release.
The jet will be painted red, white, and blue before it rolls out.
White said the bridge program was intended to “deliver a bridge capability as soon as possible to relieve pressure on the aging VC-25A fleet,” which is what the president currently uses.
The plane will serve as the interim presidential aircraft while the White House waits for the fully equipped VC-25B planes, which are expected to arrive at the end of Trump’s second term.
The Boeing VC-25B planes were supposed to arrive in 2024 but have been delayed for years and aren’t expected to be ready for flight until mid-2028.
“Ultimately, the Bridge aircraft fulfills a critical short-term requirement, guaranteeing the Air Force continues to execute its no-fail mission for the commander in chief while laying a rock-solid foundation for the future,” a press release by the Air Force said.
The current plane Trump uses for Air Force One is more than three decades old.
Qatar first offered the jet, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, in May 2025.
Trump confirmed on May 11 that the Department of War would accept the foreign jet.
“The Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in May 2025.
By Jacki Thrapp
