WACO, Texas (KXXV) — A Qatari jet that President Donald Trump wants converted into a temporary Air Force One has landed in Waco during a stop in a secretive tour of Texas airfields, as the military readies the aircraft for service.
According to a report by San Antonio Express-News, the Middle Eastern country donated the used Boeing 747-8 to the Pentagon in July, drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle over ethics and legalities of accepting the "gift" from a foreign government, and the unclear cost of upgrading it for the president's use.
The jet is 13-years-old and arrived in early August at the L3Harris Technologies Inc. facility at Texas State Technical College Waco Airport, according to flight tracking services.
The jumbo jet is now registered as N7478D and it came from Fort Worth Alliance Airport, where it had been since the end of June. Before that, the plane spent nearly three months at San Antonio International Airport.
L3Harris, a defense contractor, reportedly got a classified deal to fix the aircraft but the Defense Department has not confirmed those details or revealed the value of the contract with L3Harris.
The cost to repair and revamp the aircraft with security and communications upgrades to make it safe for the president has been estimated by multiple sources to be between $400 million and $1 billion. That bill would go to the Air Force, which has said it intends to siphon leftover funds from its Sentinel nuclear missile program to pay for it.
The jet costs $400 million new but its current value is estimated to be closer to $200 million.
President Trump has said it could be ready for him in February 2026, but some experts say that's not likely given the major security risks of a U.S. president using a jet previously owned by another country. And the continued government shutdown could delay the project since many government civilians are furloughed.
