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Agencies

A new Air Force One gifted by Qatar as a replacement aircraft for ferrying US presidents was unveiled on Friday by the US Air Force.
“The Air Force’s VC-25B Bridge aircraft has officially arrived at the Presidential Airlift Group and will commence its initial commissioning flights, marking the successful delivery of a secure, modified executive platform,” the Air Force said.
“The workmanship of this plane is, when you see it, you won’t believe it,” Trump said from inside the massive Andrews Air Force Base hangar, as a couple of hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on.
He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.
Trump confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated he would be returning to China “at some point during the year”, presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November.
His return from the Group of 7 summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.

“Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colours and the design were to “my taste, I will say”.
He added that the new Air Force One would do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.
Qatar’s gift of the aircraft – valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars – has raised ethical, constitutional and security concerns.
Trump has previously said it would be “stupid” to reject the gift, while also stoking further concern by saying the plane would eventually be donated to his presidential library.
The US president has fixated on replacing the aircraft, which have been in service since the 1990s, since his first term.
On Thursday, White House officials bade farewell to one of the two heavily modified Boeing 747s that have transported US presidents for decades, which fuelled speculation that the new jet would be unveiled imminently.
The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it.
The plane’s left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it.
Whenever a US president is on the jet, it officially takes the call sign Air Force One.
The US government has contracted Boeing to deliver two new 747-8 aircraft to serve as part of the presidential fleet, however, the programme has been plagued by delays and cost-overruns.
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press


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Trump unveils new Air Force One, as he plans trips to China and Turkey

US President Donald Trump exits the newly designated Air Force One presidential aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Friday. Photo: AP

The VC-25B Bridge aircraft sits at Joint Base Andrews on Friday. Photo: US Air Force via Reuters

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US President Donald Trump boarding Air Force One. Photo: Reuters

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US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Ocala International Airport in Florida on Friday. Photo: AP

A Boeing 747 sits on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport, after US President Donald Trump toured the aircraft in February 2025. Trump has accepted the luxury jet from the Qatari royal family for use as Air Force One. Photo: TNS

A rendering of the next-generation Air Force One is seen in an undated illustration. Image: US Air Force via Reuters

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The US president’s use of an aircraft – worth hundreds of millions of dollars – from Qatar has raised ethical and security concerns


The US president’s use of an aircraft – worth hundreds of millions of dollars – from Qatar has raised ethical and security concerns.


Trump unveils new Air Force One, as he plans trips to China and Turkey

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The US president’s use of an aircraft – worth hundreds of millions of dollars – from Qatar has raised ethical and security concerns

The US president’s use of an aircraft – worth hundreds of millions of dollars – from Qatar has raised ethical and security concerns