United States (US) President Donald Trump’s new Air Force One, given to him by Qatar, is ready to enter service this summer after a $400 million overhaul.
Qatar presented a Boeing 747 (estimated value $400 million) to President Trump during his official visit to the Arab country last year.
In a statement Friday, the U.S. Air Force updated: “We have officially completed modification and flight testing,” adding that the jet was being painted.
The gifted plane will serve as a temporary presidential plane. “The aircraft is scheduled to roll out in a new red, white and blue livery this summer,” the Air Force said.
The expensive gift sparked considerable controversy in the United States, as many argued it posed national security risks and also declared it against the constitutional ban on foreign gifts to the president.
The overhaul itself was expensive, with the Air Force spending about $400 million, the plane’s estimated value, to deconstruct some parts to ensure there was no spy technology and that new top-secret communications equipment had been installed.
Gen. Dale White, the four-star Air Force official who directed the overhaul, said, “By and large, the aircraft we’re getting is in the same condition from an internal perspective.”
He added that the air force’s specifications for the president’s aircraft differ significantly from those used by other countries for their heads of state.
