Pentagon Accepts Qatari Boeing 747
The US Defense Department has accepted a luxury Boeing 747 from the government of Qatar, a move intended to provide President Donald Trump with a potential third Air Force One aircraft, Pentagon officials confirmed Wednesday. The plane, valued at around $200 million, was offered as a gift and is now under evaluation for extensive security upgrades required for presidential travel.
“They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, and it’s a great thing,” President Trump said during a meeting on Wednesday with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the aircraft was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink acknowledged the plane needs “significant modifications” before it could carry the president and said planning for those upgrades is underway.
The aircraft, previously outfitted for the Qatari royal family, has been sitting at a maintenance facility in San Antonio since early April.
Lawmakers have raised concerns about national security and ethics. Critics worry the jet may include surveillance devices or that the gift could violate constitutional bans on foreign gifts to US officials. Senator Chuck Schumer, who introduced a bill to ban the use of foreign aircraft as Air Force One, called the arrangement “the largest foreign bribe in modern history.”
President Trump, meanwhile, has defended the gift, calling it a cost-saving measure. “Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars when they can get it for FREE,” Trump posted on social media during his trip to the Gulf.
