Trump received a Boeing 747 as a gift from another country. Would it be a Trojan horse?

U.S. President Donald Trump made an unusual change of presidential plane during his trip to Europe this week, leaving behind the new presidential plane given as a gift by Qatar, which had been unveiled weeks earlier as its new Air Force One. On Wednesday (8), Trump boarded the old model — a 747-200B in service since 1990, purchased by the U.S. itself — for part of the return trip, and the exchange reignited doubts about the safety of the jet received for free.

According to the American press, the replacement came shortly after Trump ordered, still in Ankara, new attacks on Iran, a country neighboring Turkey, where the president was visiting. The old plane, designated VC-25A, carries defense systems that Qatar’s hastily refurbished gift may not have in full. Questioned, the president denied that the change was related to risk and said that the new aircraft would be taken to a base in the United Kingdom to be shown to military personnel.

From real jet to “bridge plane”

The new aircraft was manufactured as a series version of the Boeing 747-8 with a jet interior, and was delivered to Qatar Amiri Flight, the VIP fleet of the Qatari royal family, in 2012. In 2023, the Jumbo went out of operation. In February 2025, already in Trump’s second term, the Qatari emir sent the plane to the US so that the president could meet him. What started as a possible sale or lease became a donation: the Pentagon accepted the jet in May 2025, and the defense contractor L3Harris was responsible for the conversion. It is estimated that the 747-8 plus its adaptations could cost around US$ 5 billion (R$ 25 billion)

It took about 400 employees on uninterrupted shifts for ten months to deliver the plane before July 4, according to L3Harris. The aircraft, dubbed the VC-25B Bridge, was unveiled on June 19, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews and was painted in red, white, dark blue and gold, chosen by Trump, in a break with the traditional light blue used since the 1960s.

The VC-25B Bridge is based on the 747-8 Intercontinental, the largest commercial airliner ever made by Boeing. It is about 76.3 m long, approximately 5.5 m longer than the current one, and 68.4 m in wingspan. The maximum takeoff weight comes to about 448 tons, a jump of approximately 70 tons over the VC-25A.

The old plane is a 747-200B with almost four decades of use. There are two examples (tails 28000 and 29000), with more than 70 seats and about 383 km of wiring, twice as much as a common 747, all shielded against electromagnetic pulse. Flight time is expensive and spare parts are scarce, prompting the search for a replacement as Boeing delays the final two VC-25Bs.

Why the old plane still inspires more confidence

The VC-25A is, in practice, a Boeing 747 disguised as a flying fortress, with a passive survival arsenal. At the tail, for example, the AN/AAR-54(V) warning receiver detects the ultraviolet trail of smoke from a newly launched missile; the system of targeted infrared countermeasures fires pulses of energy to “blind” the guide head of heat missiles; and the AN/ALQ-204 jammer masks the thermal signature of the engines. There are also the classic chaff (metallic tapes that confuse radars) and flares (hot flares that attract heat missiles away from the fuselage) to protect it from various attacks.

The most extreme layer is the armor: wiring and structure are protected against the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion, which would allow the plane to continue operating as a command post even in atomic war. Much of this resource is secret, but enough has already been made public to know that the VC-25A functions as an armored command center, not just as a transport.

The problem with the Qatari jet is there: according to experts heard by the American press, the accelerated conversion would have left out part of the usual protection package. The Air Force itself has admitted to having made concessions on lesser-used capabilities to meet the deadline, although it says it has not given up essential security, communications and defense.

What Qatar wants in return

Behind the present, analysts see strategy. For critics and ethicists, the jet would constitute a possible violation of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments without congressional approval. The fear is that a gift of this size will create expectations of reciprocity in foreign policy, arms deals or tariffs.

These critics said the move would fit into a broader effort by Doha to extend its influence in the United States. Trump counters: he said that “only a fool” would refuse “the most luxurious plane in the world” and claimed that the aircraft belongs to the Department of Defense. He intends to transfer it to his future presidential library at the end of his term, which, for opponents, reinforces the reading of personal trophy.

Meanwhile, the two new-generation VC-25Bs, ordered from Boeing for $3.9 billion in 2018, are still lagging. Delivery is not expected until 2028, which could leave Trump without a U.S.-purchased Air Force One until the end of his administration.