The US Air Force has unveiled a new version of Air Force One, one of the world’s most secure aircraft that carries the US president. The aircraft, a gift from Qatar, has already raised questions and debates in the United States regarding ethics, the constitution and national security.
The US Air Force announced on Friday that the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft, which has special capabilities and security, has been successfully delivered to the Presidential Airlift Group. The aircraft will begin its initial test flights.
The United States’ acceptance of the luxury aircraft, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, from Qatar, sparked intense criticism in US politics. However, US President Donald Trump dismissed the criticism, saying it would be “utterly foolish” to reject such a large gift.
At the same time, Trump sparked another controversy by saying that he would donate the aircraft to his presidential archive after his term as president ends.
Read more
Qatari gift plane may join US presidential fleet on July 4
07 May 2026
President Trump has been pushing hard since his first term to replace two aging Boeing 747 aircraft from the 1990s. On Thursday, White House officials officially retired one of the two older aircraft. After that, news of the new aircraft being added to the US presidential fleet emerged.
The new aircraft also has a major change in its exterior. While the old aircraft had a combination of blue and white, the new one has a dark blue underside, a thin red stripe in the middle, and a blue upper body.