Latest news with #VC-25A
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Editorial: No thanks to Qatari gift — Forget the fancy free plane
While there's nothing inherently wrong with the U.S. military accepting used equipment from another country, President Donald Trump's plan to use a Boeing 747 from Qatar as a new Air Force One and then keeping it for his own personal use after leaving office has too many problems to fly. From appearance's sake to security concerns to the proprietary of using what would be a U.S. government asset for private benefit, the deal should never take off. The Air Force now operates twin 1990-vintage 747s with tail numbers 28000 and 29000 for presidential travel. The aircraft designations are known as VC-25A. Two replacements, VC-25B, have long been on order from Boeing, with Trump during his first term in 2018 agreeing to a $3.9 billion price for the pair for a 2024 delivery. 2024 didn't happen and the current delivery date is now 2029, during the next presidential term. But in testimony last week to the House Armed Services Committee, Darlene Costello, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics, said that planes could be ready in 2027. The new planes on back order are the last version of the famed widebody, the Boeing 747-8i. The 'i' is for intercontinental, for passenger airliners, as opposed to the 747-8f, which is a freighter for air cargo. So enter the Qataris. They have a surplus 747-8i, from 2012, outfitted as a flying palace that they want to unload. So they would donate this aircraft to the Pentagon, which would upgrade the security and communication equipment needed to transport the president and it would be the new Air Force One. That call sign is for any Air Force craft carrying the commander in chief, just like helicopters or planes with the president aboard are called Marine One or Navy One or Army One or Coast Guard One. Under the proposed arrangement, in 2029, when Trump departs office (we hope he does) and the new jets from Boeing arrive, the ex-Qatari airliner would be transferred to Trump's presidential library and museum, presumably for him to keep flying as a private citizen. Do we want the U.S. government to be using hand-me-downs from the oil and gas rich Gulf state? And what would the Qataris expect in return (which is not money)? And even if those weren't issues, in order to provide the total privacy and security needed as a flying White House, every bolt would have to be removed and examined for possible eavesdropping bugs. It would be too risky to let a foreign power have the potential to listen in to everything being said on Air Force One. And even if the technical hurdles could be managed (which they probably can't), handing the plane to Trump as a parting gift is unacceptable. If such a plane in the Pentagon's inventory had no future value to the government, then sell it off at a surplus auction. Trump says that this is a great deal. But that's only because he doesn't mind being in debt to the Qataris and he doesn't mind being exposed to security breaches and he sees nothing wrong with him getting to keep the 747 for his personal retirement travel. So while it's a good deal privately, it's a no-go for the public. _____
Business Insider
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
See the US's presidential aircraft fleet that Trump wants to add to with a $400 million gift
The ruling family of Qatar gifted the US president the $400 million luxury jumbo jet, and Trump said he would "never be one to turn down that kind of offer." The potential plane deal faced pushback from critics and even some Trump allies over security concerns and the legal and ethical issues associated with using a foreign-origin aircraft as Air Force One, the president's airborne command center. Besides Air Force One, the presidential fleet includes other fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft depending on the mission. Presidential aircraft fleet Air Force One is a call sign that refers to any US Air Force aircraft transporting the president, though it is commonly recognized by its blue-and-white Air Force has two "specially configured" Boeing 747-200B jets that are primarily used as Air Force One. The VC-25A aircraft is uniquely modified to serve as an airborne command-and-control center for the president, staff, and guests with the same level of safety and security as the White than the number of passengers it can carry, the main differences between the VC-25 and the standard Boeing 747 include more advanced electronic and communications equipment, a self-contained baggage loader, and the capability for in-flight VC-25 also has a rest area and mini-galley for the aircrew, six passenger lavatories, and a compartment with medical supplies and equipment for minor in-flight emergencies. Marine One For shorter distance trips, especially to and from the White House, the president flies in Marine One, which includes military helicopters like the VH-3D Sea King and the VH-60N White service for nearly five decades, both military helicopters are set to be phased out and fully replaced with modernized rotary-wing aircraft, the next-generation Marine One is designed to be a militarized variant of the Sikorsky VH-92 Patriot. Other aircraft The presidential fleet also includes other fixed-wing aircraft besides the modified 747. The C-32A, a modified Boeing 757-200, is better suited for smaller airports or low-profile C-40, based on the Boeing 737, can be used to fly the president but is more often used for Cabinet members or other VIP on General Dynamics' Gulfstream long-range business jets, the C-37 is used to transport high-ranking government and Defense Department officials for worldwide missions. 'Next Air Force One' The two planes currently being used as Air Force One have been in service for nearly four decades. They are set to be replaced by a modernized variant dubbed the "Next Air Force One."Officially designated the VC-25B, the new presidential aircraft is set to feature "electrical power upgrades, a mission communication system, a medical facility, an executive interior, a self-defense system, and autonomous ground operations capabilities," according to an Air Force two future VC-25B jets were initially scheduled to be fielded in 2024, but supply chain issues and shifting requirements could postpone their delivery to pressure from the White House to have the new aircraft ready before Trump leaves office in January 2029, the Air Force and Boeing are aiming to have the new aircraft delivered by 2027, according to Darlene Costello, the Air Force's principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics. A 'security nightmare' An Air Force official told Air and Space Forces Magazine that the service is coordinating with the White House and Boeing "to further define the requirements and acceleration options while ensuring we provide a safe, secure, and reliable aircraft for the president."Trump has previously expressed his frustration with receiving the next-generation Air Force One, suggesting earlier this year that he may seek "alternatives, because it's taking Boeing too long."Despite the backlash, the president doubled down on his proposal to use the Qatari jet as Air Force One, saying he doesn't plan on using it after his term and would donate it to a future presidential library."I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane,'" Trump told reporters free in cost, there's still a major cost to overhaul and retrofit the plane with the strict security requirements needed to serve as Air Force One."Along with the obvious ethical and legal issues, a $400M gifted luxury jet is not Air Force One," US Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut wrote on X. "Retrofitting a plane from Qatar would create huge costs & a security nightmare that would impede the work underway to deliver the actual AF1 by 2027."
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A free plane? Trump's Air Force One plan could be an expensive 'security nightmare.'
The Trump administration is set to receive a luxury 747 jet from Qatar's royal family. Trump plans to use the 747 as the new Air Force One since the replacement plane is delayed. The transfer raises significant questions about potential security risks that could be costly to address. President Donald Trump wants a luxury aircraft gifted by Qatar's royal family to be his new Air Force One. Beyond the legal and ethical questions, there are a host of security concerns. Air Force One is a call sign for any US Air Force aircraft the president flies on, but it most commonly refers to the well-known light blue and white plane used for presidential transport. The aircraft is custom-built to operate as a secure, self-sufficient flying command center if need be. Using a plane gifted by a foreign country to fill this role would demand significant work to deliver the necessary capabilities and mitigate potential security risks. Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA operations officer who served multiple Middle East tours, said that there are standards that the US Air Force, Department of Defense, and Secret Service are required to uphold to move the president securely. "It's going to cost an exorbitant amount of money to get that up to standard with a plane gifted by a foreign government," he told Business Insider. Trump said on Sunday evening in a Truth Social post that the Defense Department will receive a 747 "free of charge" to temporarily replace his aging Air Force One. He said the US would take possession of it in what he described as "a very public and transparent transaction." The specially configured version of Boeing's 747-200B, built to transport the president of the United States, is a highly recognizable aircraft with its iconic livery that has become synonymous with the Air Force One call sign. It is fitted with secure communications equipment and can refuel mid-flight. The plane is also equipped with electronic warfare capabilities and missile countermeasures. The Air Force has operated two of these militarized 747s, which the service designates as VC-25A, for 35 years. The tail numbers are 28000 and 29000. A new aircraft, the VC-25B, is set to replace these planes and has been in development since 2015. However, the program has faced a number of issues that have forced its start date to be pushed back from 2024 to 2027 at the soonest. On Monday, Trump told reporters he was "very disappointed that it has taken Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One." ABC News, which first reported Sunday on the gift, said that Trump would use the Qatari-donated 747 (which has an estimated price tag of $400 million) as the new Air Force One until just before he leaves office in 2029. Asked Monday whether Qatar had asked for anything in exchange for the luxury 747, Trump said the US has provided the Gulf country with lots of security over the years. He described the gift as "a great gesture" and said he "would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer." "I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane," he said. The president said that the US has kept Qatar — and its neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — secure and will continue to do so. "If it wasn't for us, they probably wouldn't exist right now. And I think this was just a gesture of good faith," he added. The US military operates out of several key bases in these three countries. In response to further questions, Trump said that he does not plan to use the 747 after he leaves office and that the plane would go directly to his presidential library foundation. Beyond raising questions about the legality of accepting an expensive gift from another country, the Qatar 747 news quickly triggered criticism from some US lawmakers and stoked concerns about the potential security risks of receiving such an important asset from a foreign state. Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees Air Force One, said that "retrofitting a plane from Qatar would create huge costs & a security nightmare that would impede the work underway to deliver the actual AF1 by 2027." Boeing, the US aerospace giant, reportedly built the 747 as a private jet for Qatar's royal family, which acquired the aircraft in 2012. It is significantly larger than the 757-200 "Trump Force One" that the president and his organization have been using as a personal plane. Once the Qatari 747 is eventually received by the Air Force, it will be modified and essentially militarized by the Pentagon to meet the requirements of transporting a president — a high-stakes job that is unlikely to be cheap. "The idea of getting it from a foreign government, you literally would have to tear it apart piece by piece," said Polymeropoulos, now a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He said acquiring this 747 isn't cost-effective because it will be expensive for the government and military to retrofit the aircraft to bring the plane up to the necessary standards. "I suppose you can, but basically, you're building a whole new plane," he said. BI asked the White House about addressing the security concerns and whether these surfaced during discussions of the aircraft's transfer. The administration pointed to Trump's remarks from the press conference earlier on Monday. Qatar has stressed that a decision to transfer the aircraft is not final. A Pentagon spokesperson referred BI to the White House for questions about Air Force One procurement. Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who protected several presidents during his 20-year-long career, identified multiple potential concerns with acquiring the 747. LaSorsa, president and CEO of J.A. LaSorsa & Associates, told BI that these possible risks include sabotage to the 747's mechanical or operational features, tracking of the aircraft, and any surveillance through audio or video recording devices. He stressed that the American government would thoroughly examine the entire plane in a process that could take up to a year or longer. "They're going to do their due diligence, if they do, in fact, use it," he said, but that's time and money. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
A free plane? Trump's Air Force One plan could be an expensive 'security nightmare.'
Trump wants a luxury aircraft gifted by Qatar's royal family to be his new Air Force One. Beyond the legal and ethical questions, there are a host of security concerns. Air Force One is a call sign for any US Air Force aircraft the president flies on, but it most commonly refers to the well-known light blue and white plane used for presidential transport. The aircraft is custom-built to operate as a secure, self-sufficient flying command center if need be. Using a plane gifted by a foreign country to fill this role would demand significant work to deliver the necessary capabilities and mitigate potential security risks. Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA operations officer who served multiple Middle East tours, said that there are standards that the US Air Force, Department of Defense, and Secret Service are required to uphold to move the president securely. "It's going to cost an exorbitant amount of money to get that up to standard with a plane gifted by a foreign government," he told Business Insider. Trump said on Sunday evening in a Truth Social post that the Defense Department will receive a 747 "free of charge" to temporarily replace his aging Air Force One. He said the US would take possession of it in what he described as "a very public and transparent transaction." The specially configured version of Boeing's 747-200B built to transport the president of the United States is a highly recognizable aircraft with its iconic livery that has become synonymous with the Air Force One call sign. It is fitted with secure communications equipment and can refuel mid-flight. The plane is also equipped with electronic warfare capabilities and missile countermeasures. The Air Force has operated two of these militarized 747s, which the service designates as VC-25A, for 35 years. The tail numbers are 28000 and 29000. A new aircraft, the VC-25B, is set to replace these planes and has been in development since 2015. However, the program has faced a number of issues that have forced its start date to be pushed back from 2024 to 2027 at the soonest. On Monday, Trump told reporters he was "very disappointed that it has taken Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One." ABC News, which first reported Sunday on the gift, said that Trump would use the Qatari-donated 747 (which has an estimated price tag of $400 million) as the new Air Force One until just before he leaves office in 2029. Asked Monday whether Qatar had asked for anything in exchange for the luxury 747, Trump said the US has provided the Gulf country with lots of security over the years. He described the gift as "a great gesture" and said he "would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer." "I could be a stupid person and say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane," he said. The president said that the US has kept Qatar — and its neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — secure and will continue to do so. "If it wasn't for us, they probably wouldn't exist right now. And I think this was just a gesture of good faith," he added. The US military operates out of several key bases in these three countries. In response to further questions at the press conference, Trump said that he does not plan to use the 747 after he leaves office and that the plane would go directly to his presidential library foundation. Beyond raising questions about the legality of accepting an expensive gift from another country, the Qatar 747 news quickly triggered criticism from some US lawmakers and stoked concerns about the potential security concerns of receiving such an important asset from a foreign state. Connecticut's Rep. Joe Courtney, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services subcommittee that oversees Air Force One, said that "retrofitting a plane from Qatar would create huge costs & a security nightmare that would impede the work underway to deliver the actual AF1 by 2027." Boeing, the US aerospace giant, reportedly built the 747 as a private jet for Qatar's royal family, which acquired the aircraft in 2012. It is significantly larger than the 757-200 "Trump Force One" that the president and his organization have been using as a personal plane. Once the Qatari 747 is eventually received by the Air Force, it will be modified and essentially militarized by the Pentagon to meet the requirements of transporting a president — a high-stakes job that is unlikely to be cheap. "The idea of getting it from a foreign government, you literally would have to tear it apart piece by piece," said Polymeropoulos, now a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He said acquiring this 747 isn't cost-effective because it will be expensive for the government and military to retrofit the aircraft to bring the plane up to the necessary standards. "I suppose you can, but basically, you're building a whole new plane," he said. BI asked the White House about addressing the security concerns and whether these surfaced during discussions of the aircraft's transfer. The administration pointed to Trump's remarks from the press conference earlier on Monday. Qatar has stressed that a decision to transfer the aircraft is not final. A Pentagon spokesperson referred BI to the White House for questions about Air Force One procurement. Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who protected several presidents during his 20-year-long career, identified multiple potential concerns with acquiring the 747. LaSorsa, president and CEO of J.A. LaSorsa & Associates, told BI that these possible risks include sabotage to the 747's mechanical or operational features, tracking of the aircraft, and any surveillance through audio or video recording devices. He stressed that the American government will thoroughly examine the entire plane in a process that could take up to a year or longer. "They're going to do their due diligence, if they do, in fact, use it," he said, but that's time and money.
New Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Air Force One: iconic jet gets the Trump treatment
IT is arguably the world's most iconic plane, an instantly recognisable symbol of the US presidency. But now Air Force One – like many other American institutions once considered sacred – is getting the Donald Trump treatment. Technically Air Force One is the callsign for whichever US Air Force plane, no matter how small, is carrying the US president. But most people identify it with the two heavily modified versions of the Boeing 747-200 jet liner that usually shuttle the US president around the world. The two current models, called the VC-25A in military speak, both entered service in 1990 during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. With its classic blue and white livery the current jumbo jet has become so famous that it even spawned a Hollywood thriller named after it, starring Harrison Ford. Sometimes presidents use smaller planes based on Boeing 757s for shorter flights, dubbed "Baby Air Force One." "Big Air Force One" boasts luxury features fit for a commander-in-chief. The president himself has a large suite that includes an office with leather chairs and a polished wooden desk – a space Trump used for a press conference to sign a proclamation renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. A medical suite on board can also function as an operating room, should the worst happen. There are special cabins for senior advisors, Secret Service members and 13 traveling press. It has two galleys that can feed 100 people at a time, all on specially branded crockery. But the plane's main role is keeping the US president safe. Inflight refuelling capability means it can stay in the air almost indefinitely. A hardened electronics system protects against electromagnetic pulses – whether from nuclear explosions or hostile jammers – "allowing the aircraft to function as a mobile command centre in the event of an attack on the United States," the White House said. Those communications also keep Trump constantly in touch with the ground – and able to send social media posts in mid-air. The jet also has top secret air defences, according to aviation specialists. These reportedly include countermeasures that can jam enemy radars and infrared tracking systems, plus dispensers for chaff – metal shavings that distract radar-guided missiles – and flares that blind heat-seeking missiles. Inevitably, Air Force One has also played its role in history. The first specially-designed jets were brought in by John F. Kennedy in 1962, using modified Boeing 707s. One of those jets brought Kennedy's body back to Washington after his assassination in Dallas in 1963. Then in 2001, George W. Bush took to the skies aboard Air Force One after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. But Trump has long had something of an obsession with the presidential jets. The Republican has consistently sought to upgrade them, agreeing a deal with Boeing in 2018 during his first term for two new models based on the newer 747-8 jet. He also dreamed up a new colour scheme – replacing the one largely in place since Kennedy's time – with a deep red stripe down the middle of the aircraft and a dark blue underbelly. Trump likes the new look so much that he still has a model of it on his coffee table in the Oval Office, and showed it off at his inauguration for a second term. But now he has repeatedly complained about delays and cost overruns. "We're very disappointed that it's taking Boeing so long... We have an Air Force one that's 40 years old," Trump said on Monday. "You look at some of the Arab countries and the planes they have parked alongside of the United States of America plane, it's like from a different planet." One of those same Arab countries, Qatar, has now offered the United States a Boeing 747-8 from the royal family to use as a stopgap Air Force One. But with ethical concerns and security worries about using a plane from a foreign power for such an ultra-sensitive purpose, it's unclear whether the scheme will ever leave the ground.
