President Donald Trump claims he’s being gifted a “free, very expensive airplane” by Qatar’s royal family—but turning that jet into a functioning Air Force One could cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Qatari Defense Ministry is in talks with the White House to transfer a luxury-configured Boeing 747-8 to the Pentagon. The idea is to retrofit it as an interim presidential aircraft, overseen by the Air Force. But experts and lawmakers warn the plane would need an extensive and expensive overhaul before it could be used by the commander in chief.
“This isn’t really a gift,” said Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee for Seapower and Projection Forces. “You’d basically have to tear the plane down to the studs and rebuild it to meet all the survivability, security, and communications requirements of Air Force One. It’s a massive, unfunded undertaking.”
Trump has welcomed the offer, saying Monday, “It’s a great gesture from Qatar. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”
Administration officials argue that the current presidential fleet—two aging Boeing 747s modified for military use—is increasingly difficult to maintain, and replacements are running years behind schedule. A third aircraft could help bridge the gap.
However, experts say the Qatar jet, though the same base model (747-8) as the VC-25Bs under modification, is not equipped for presidential use.
“What matters is what’s inside the plane,” said Kevin Buckley, a former Air Force official who oversaw the Air Force One replacement program. “The presidential equipment is unique—secure, hardened, and survivable.”
To bring the donated jet up to Air Force One standards, it would require a complete internal reconstruction: replacing electrical systems, installing advanced avionics, secure communications, defensive measures, and electromagnetic shielding.
Former Air Force acquisitions chief Andrew Hunter estimated the retrofit could rival the cost of a full maintenance overhaul of a VC-25A—potentially running into the tens or hundreds of millions. He added that thoroughly scanning the aircraft for foreign software or embedded tech alone could cost tens of millions.
Beyond the retrofit, the long-term costs of operating a presidential aircraft are immense. Each VC-25B is expected to cost over $2.5 billion, with an additional $7.7 billion in operating and support costs projected over 30 years, according to a 2021 internal Pentagon estimate.
In short, the Qatari plane may be free up front—but making it Air Force One ready would be anything but cheap.