One of the most important, if not the most striking, recent international news stories has been US President Donald Trump’s receipt of an expensive gift from the Qatari royal family: a VIP Boeing 747-8. However, if you look into the history of the issue, it turns out that this is not someone's whim, but the end result of a problematic long-term story involving the replacement of Air Force One.
Mainstream media began to write about this story en masse only in early May, but the first publications about the interest of the newly elected American president in the Qatari plane appeared back in February. He showed the interest in person – at the time, Trump personally inspected the Boeing 747-8 with the temporary registration number P4-HBJ at the Palm Beach airport. This aircraft made its first flight in 2012 and was operated by only one airline, Qatar Amiri Flight. More precisely, it is no more an airline than Russia’s domestic SLO - in fact, it is a state air squadron, but at the same time it reflects the deserved pride of the gulf country, which is home to one of the most famous airlines in the world, Qatar Airways. For ten years, the plane, along with three of its brothers (including a plane registered to the offshore "Bermuda" airline Worldwide Aircraft Holding), carried members of the Qatari royal family and senior government officials around the world, which are usually the same thing. In 2023, it was transferred to the business jet operator Global Jet Isle of Man (judging by the fact that everyone is discussing a gift "from Qatar", the real owner has not changed), who probably did not operate the aircraft, at least actively. As of the beginning of this year, it had already been in the States for some time, apparently looking for a buyer.
Trump obviously liked the aircraft. In early April, while everyone was discussing whether it is acceptable or not for the American president to accept such an expensive gift from a foreign power, the plane flew to San Antonio, Texas, where the production base of L3Harris Technologies, one of the leading manufacturers of specialised radio-electronic equipment, is located. According to fragmentary information, it received a contract for the urgent modification of the plane with specialised systems (primarily communications). They want to put it into operation as soon as possible - by the end of the year, if not the fall. The deadline is very optimistic, but on the other hand, the modifications can be carried out in part and the "Qatari" gift can be used for trips during normal times, and in the event of a near-war alarm situation, the White House’s two old, available VC-25As will not disappear anywhere.
How did they end up like this?
In the East, giving a dear guest a horse from the ruler's personal stable is considered a beautiful and traditional gesture. The Qatari royal family is used to it - for example, Turkey's "Air Force One" (a similar 747-8) also originated in Qatar. Moreover, when the opposition raised a fuss about purchasing an expensive car in the midst of the economic crisis, Erdogan said, that the Qatari emir, seeing the guest's interest in the expensive steed, and learning of his need for a new plane, categorically refused to take money from his Turkish friends. In past years, simpler planes were also sold or transferred to other countries. Doha's motives are clear - both a beautiful gesture, and Trump, given his personal interest, will probably be grateful (to the extent that this feeling exists in major politicians).
But how did the US itself end up in a situation where the president would fly in a hastily modernised aircraft donated from the Middle East? It's all about the chronically problematic programme to replace Air Force One. The current VC-25As have been flying since 1987 (they were put into operation in 1990 due to a long debugging of the communication systems, the first to be used by George Bush senior). They are also based on the Boeing 747, but of the previous generation. In principle, their operation is still acceptable, but due to their age, the aircraft increasingly require more and more complex maintenance. When one of the aircraft is in long-term maintenance, any malfunction in the second "chains" the American president to the ground, which, as reported, has already affected plans for international travel (it is still possible to fly within the country on the smaller C-32A, based on the Boeing 757, and sometimes this is even necessary if the airport is small).
The problem was recognized long ago. After a leisurely competition with only one participant, in 2016 Boeing received the contract to create the VC-25B based on the Boeing 747-8. At that time, production of the passenger modification of the Boeing 747-8i was already winding down. Although in principle it was possible to order additional ones, the US Air Force preferred to save money and take two aircraft built for the bankrupt Russian Transaero which remained in the States. Thus, the future Air Force One will have "Russian roots". The fact that the aircraft were ready from the start makes for an even more surreal connotation.
The modernisation of the aircraft began only in 2020 and it was expected to be delivered in 2024. Trump, very annoyed by both the condition of the existing aircraft and the delays with the new ones, paid great attention to the programme. In particular, he announced a change in the appearance of the aircraft from the "light blue invented by Jackie Kennedy" to a "more patriotic" red, white and blue, and even kept a model of the plane with this colour scheme in his office (under Biden, "out of spite", the plans for the painting were naturally rolled back, but now both they and the model have returned). It is interesting that Trump was rooting for the programme more for his successor - he clearly planned to immediately be elected for a second term, and the planes would have been ready by the end of it at best.
However, due to the Covid pandemic and, to a lesser extent, strict government control over the production of such an important aircraft, as well as the monstrous low level of management and production culture that Boeing has been famous for in recent years (the main problem), the task proved to be insurmountable. By the time of his return to the White House, Trump could only hear that he would have to wait longer for the delivery of the planes than he had expected while in office the first time. According to the Air Force, the timeline for the delivery of the VC-25B was extended to 2029, according to optimistic estimates, and to the early 2030s, according to realistic estimates.
It is not surprising that, having learned that he will never fly in the new aircraft, Trump went looking for alternative solutions. Boeing would be glad to lose the contract (due to its fixed cost, the company is incurring increasing losses on the programme), but terminating it on its own initiative would clearly result in monstrous fines. For the same reasons, the Air Force is probably not tearing it up either, which, moreover, probably has no alternatives - it would like a four-engine aircraft for the presidential side, and they are no longer produced in the West. Transferring half-finished aircraft and a programme in the middle to another is unsuitable. In principle, the safety level of four- and twin-engine airliners is already almost the same, and many heads of state calmly fly in twin-engine aircraft. However, four engines do provide more certainty - for example, it was argued that if one engine fails, a twin-engine aircraft should land at the nearest airfield, while a four-engine aircraft can continue to its destination point - this would probably only delay the contractor's work.
The Boeing 747-8i was also chosen for the E-4C air command post, but they had to be purchased from a Korean airline's fleet. Moreover, Sierra Nevada Corporation immediately took on the conversion, and Boeing was excluded from participating in the tender. Now Boeing says that if the level of control over contractors and production is simplified, it is ready to deliver the first VC-25B in 2027, but it is not clear whether the controllers will agree to this and whether it is interested in making concessions to Trump, who will already have received the "Qatari horse". The current unique situation, when the American president will have to fly in a used foreign aircraft, is not a surprise, but a consequence of the protracted crisis at the country's leading aircraft manufacturer. Trump's personality did not cause the problem; on the contrary, he’s been open to an extraordinary solution.
