Trump’s Qatari Air Force One Faces Expert Doubts
President Donald Trump says a donated Boeing 747-8 from Qatar could be ready to serve as Air Force One by February 2026 — far ahead of the long-delayed delivery of two new presidential aircraft from Boeing’s official replacement program. “They say February,” Trump told reporters in late July when asked when he expected to fly on the new plane. “Much sooner than the others. The others are being built.” Experts Question Feasibility Former Defense Department officials and aviation experts are sceptical, pointing to the massive task of converting a standard aircraft into a fully equipped, secure Air Force One. Andrew Hunter, former assistant secretary of the Air Force under the Biden administration — who oversaw a $54 billion annual budget including the Air Force One program — said meeting that deadline would be “challenging, if not impossible” without bypassing standard […]