Trump says Qatari jet could be ready for use as Air Force One in 6 months. Experts are deeply skeptical

President Donald Trump told reporters last month the donated Qatari jet could be ready for his use as Air Force One in February 2026, well ahead of the long-delayed delivery of two presidential planes from Boeing through a more traditional acquisition process.

“They say February,” Trump said in late July, when asked by a reporter when he expected to be flying on the new plane. “Much sooner than the others. The others are being built.”

But former Defense officials and aviation analysts express deep skepticism about how realistic that timeline is, citing the immense task of upgrading a foreign government’s plane to meet Air Force One’s distinct requirements and ensuring it is safe and secure for a president to fly on, especially internationally.

Andrew Hunter is a former assistant secretary of the Air Force under the Biden administration. He oversaw an annual budget of more than $54 billion for hundreds of acquisition programs, including Air Force One. He thinks it would be “challenging, if not impossible,” to complete the jet in that timeframe without Trump waiving some of the requirements that typically need to occur before a president can fly on a new plane.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-says-qatari-jet-could-090042765.html

And it only costs the taxpayers a billion dollars.