It?s no secret that President of the United States, Donald Trump , has been in a rush for a new Air Force One since his first term. In the past few days, the news has been swirling that he found a solution in the form of a gift from the Royals of Qatar . The idea of accepting the $400 million USD jet as a replacement for Air Force One has come under immediate, harsh criticism for legal and political reasons, but also because it isn?t actually a solution in technical terms.

According to the United States Air Force (USAF), the pair of replacements would be ready by 2024, but that didn?t happen according to plan. Boeing has since struggled to get the program on track, even receiving a personal visit from Elon Musk to review the progress, but to no avail. According to a report by CNN just last week, Boeing has since reported losses of around $2.5 billion USD on the original $3.9 billion contract.

Experts Weigh In: Dead On Arrival

The Boeing VC-25 program has been laboring under duress for nearly a decade now, with sluggish progress, but the disappointing momentum of the program doesn?t mean that retrofitting a standard 747 would be any faster. Air Force One is not an airliner but rather the most sophisticated flying command center in the world, which also happens to be an excellently appointed flying statehouse.

The VC-25 variants of the basic Boeing 747 airliner are chock-full of cutting-edge technology from nose to tail. This technology serves a myriad of purposes, from facilitating state dinners on the fly to protecting the commander in chief in the event of a nuclear war. To take a used jet off the market and equip it to be comparable would be the same as starting from scratch, but without the benefit of a clean slate.

Richard Aboulafia, an analyst and consultant on commercial and military aviation, told NBC News that turning the Qatari jetliner into Air Force One would cost billions and take years:

?You?re taking a 747, disassembling it, reassembling it, and then jacking it up to a very high level.?

Sky High Security Disaster

The Qatari Defense Ministry is in discussions with the White House about transferring a 747-8 that the Pentagon would be in charge of hiring a contractor to convert into a temporary Air Force One. Experts, USAF officials, and lawmakers all agree that the cost of transforming the jet into a flying White House for the president with classified upgrades and secure communications could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kevin Buckley, a former Air Force official who oversaw the Air Force One replacement program, told Politico:

Bottom Line

Extensive overhauling of electrical wiring, avionics, and power systems to install secure presidential communications, self-defense tech, and electromagnetic shielding would make the Qatari conversion a massive undertaking. The cost of sweeping the aircraft for software modifications or embedded foreign tech could push that number even higher.

The VC-25B program is already behind schedule, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that delivery is projected for 2027 - if some requirements are trimmed. The retrofit of the Qatari aircraft would compete with or strain the workforce involved with the VC-25B.

Richard Aboulafia, an expert in military aircraft and managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, said to Defense News that the jet is troublesome for a host of reasons.

?It?s all based on an embarrassing misunderstanding of what Air Force One is meant to do. If it?s a gold-plated palace in the sky and nothing more, have at it. If it?s an actual tool [to be used in a] worst-case contingency [like nuclear war], then this ain?t it.?

Democrats have largely denounced Trump for the ethical concerns with accepting the gifted plane from Qatar. As the announcement is fresh on the heels of Trump?s Gulf tour, we will have to wait and see if the Commander in Chief opts for a used model or waits it out until his new ride is to fly.

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