US President Donald Trump has commissioned L3Harris Technologies, a defence contractor, to prepare and refurbish a second-hand B747-8(BBJ) as an interim presidential plane by year’s end as he grows impatient with Boeing’s delays in replacing the current pair of B747-200(VC-25A)s, The Wall Street Journal reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
In February, Trump visited West Palm Beach International and toured P4-HBJ (msn 37075), an aircraft used by Qatar Amiri Flight between 2012 and 2023. The aircraft is currently owned by Global Jet IOM, but the US president has suggested the government might acquire it.
The newspaper reported that Trump wants to have the plane available for use as early as this autumn. L3Harris is tasked with retrofitting the 13.1-year-old, four-engine widebody with specialised equipment necessary for presidential travel. Reuters later confirmed The Wall Street Journal’s reporting.
During this first term as president of the United States, Donald Trump commissioned Boeing to build two new presidential planes to replace the ageing pair of B747-200(VC-25A)s; 82-8000 (msn 23824) and 92-9000 (msn 23825) were first delivered to the air force in November 1990. To accelerate the delivery, Boeing and the US government subsequently agreed to convert two B747-8s, N894BA (msn 42416) and N895BA (msn 42417), originally built for Russia's Transaero Airlines in 2016 and not delivered due to the bankruptcy of the carrier. The converted type will be dubbed the VC-25B.
In parallel, the United States Air Force has long wanted a third, younger jet to serve as a backup whenever one of the current pair is undergoing maintenance.
In February, a senior administration official told Reuters that the Air Force One programme may be delayed until 2029 or later due partly to supply chain problems. The US has planemaker reportedly lost over USD2 billion on the programme alone.
Since the beginning of his second presidential term, Trump has voiced his displeasure at Boeing over the programme’s delays, threatening to cancel the contract altogether. The newspaper reported that Trump’s White House officials have also discussed whether they could sue the manufacturer.
However, introducing an interim aircraft by year-end presents its own challenges. According to individuals interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the contractor may be unable to retrofit P4-HBJ to a proper VC-25A standard, on par with the two current Air Force One jets, due to the limited timeframe.
For over a decade, P4-HBJ has been deployed for Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family and a former prime minister.
Boeing was not immediately available to comment.
