American president Donald Trump on Friday he unveiled a Boeing 747 gifted to him by Qatar, which is set to become the future presidential plane, despite criticism for accepting the luxury jet as a gift.
The US Army has completed modifications to a luxury aircraft whose value is estimated at 400 million dollars.
“This aircraft has been transformed into a flying White House with a level of luxury that no one has seen before,” Trump said in a speech at Andrews Air Force Base.
Visibly delighted, Trump said the new plane is “almost twice the size” of its predecessor and looks even bigger when seen on the runway.
He described it as “the largest Air Force One ever built.”
“It flies farther and faster than any Air Force One,” Trump said.
In May 2025, Trump accepted the plane as a gift from Qatar. Opponents accused him of accepting bribes from the government.
The aircraft is currently in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington and will undergo test flights before being formally added to the Air Force One fleet.
The converted Qatari jet has been repainted in red, white and navy, a departure from the light blue and white color scheme used for decades.
Trump previously said he wanted the plane to enter service on the 250th anniversary of the United States on July 4, Independence Day.
On Friday, he said he hoped to use the jet to travel to Turkey, where he is expected to attend a NATO summit in Ankara in early July.
He also said he plans to use a Boeing 747 to fly to the meeting in China, without elaborating.
An unusual gift from a foreign partner has raised legal and ethical questions in the US. Democrats described the deal as “obvious corruption”.
Trump defended accepting the plane, arguing that turning down a “free, very expensive plane” would be foolish because it saves American taxpayers money.
Qatari officials also dismissed the criticism.
