3d ago

Trump administration reportedly accepts jet from Qatar for possible use as Air Force One

www.theguardian.com

Trump administration accepts jet from Qatar for possible use as Air Force One

Plane offer set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump and raised questions about Qatar’s motives

The Trump administration has reportedly accepted the controversial gift of a Boeing 747 jetliner from the government of Qatar, and directed the air force to assess how quickly the plane can be upgraded for possible use as a new Air Force One.

A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the gift to the New York Times, with the aircraft being valued at around $200m.

The offer of the jet has set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump, particularly following Trump’s visit to the country last week to arrange US business deals.

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To make sure the plane is up to spec to being the Air Force One they would basically have to take the plane apart and rebuild it with the required specifications which takes a long time.
My bet is Trump is gonna make them do it faster and skip installation of some features. Hopefully they don't plan to fly it close to any zone that has an active conflict. Otherwise someone may take a chance and try shooting it down, and they may succeed because the plane hasn't had ECM or chaff or some other countermeasures installed.
- That's one of the dumbest things, it's easier to build an Air Force One from scratch than to retrofit. At a dead minimum your paying extra to take it apart.
  Think of it like The Beast https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_state_car_(United_States)
  That's not an updated Cadillac, it's a tank with a Cadillac wrap.
  
  Another one of the dumbest things - we already paid Boeing to build a new Air Force One from scratch a few years ago, so this Qatari bribe is a totally redundant waste of money
  
  Better get DOGE on it! /s
- Hope it never leaves the ground.

14 comments