前卡塔尔飞机有望在夏季交付空军一号

The Qatari-donated 747-8i aircraft slated to become the interim Air Force One finished its modifications and flight testing ahead of launch by this summer.

Boeing’s VC-25B Bridge aircraft is currently being painted in the red, white and blue livery that President Donald Trump initially sought after during his first term in 2018, according to a Friday Air Force release.

Plans to replace the current Air Force One aging planes with two new VC-25B aircrafts have been in effect for about a decade, but a lack of properly cleared workers and supply chain issues caused the plans that were originally scheduled for a 2024 delivery to be delayed.

Now, the aircrafts are expected to be delivered in 2028.

“With the Boeing VC-25B deliveries delayed past its initial 2024 target and VC-25A heavy maintenance cycles extending, an interim capability became an absolute imperative,” the release says.

Although Trump has voiced his dissatisfaction many times with Boeing’s delays, the defense company has expressed their determination to complete the transformation of 747-8 aircraft into VC-25Bs.

In the meantime, Trump will use the luxury jet that was donated by Qatar in May 2025.

The decision to use this aircraft raised national security concerns along with worries over the amount of time and money it would require to renovate the aircraft to be appropriate for presidential use.

In June 2025, the Air Force said it would cost roughly$400 million to modify the aircraft, far less than the $1 billion aviation experts and lawmakers previously speculated.

To make the plane suitable for a president, the plane’s defense would have to be reinforced with countermeasures, encrypted communications and other necessities installed.

The release did not specify what type of capabilities the Air Force installed.航空专家过去推测，更新飞机以适应这些功能将持续到 2030 年代。