Pentagon accepts Qatar's gift of luxury megajet

[struggle4progress]

1. Here's what it will take to transform the Qatari jet into Air Force One

May 23, 20255:00 AM ET
By Kat Lonsdorf

Democratic lawmakers and independent watchdogs say the gift violates the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans government officials from taking gifts from foreign countries. Trump says it would be a gift to the DOD and that he would not use it after leaving office, when it would be kept at his presidential library ...

Two new Boeing 747-8 planes are currently being specially customized to become the next generation of Air Force One — a project that has been in the works for years and subject to delays. The new Boeing planes were supposed to be ready by last year but now aren't expected for several more years ...

Air Force One planes feature an "incredibly robust command and control suite," he says, and have defenses against a range of threats, from surface-to-air missiles to a nuclear blast ...

Much of the specifics of Air Force One aren't publicized, but a technical order accidentally published online by the Air Force in 2006 gave a look at the basic floor plan of the three-level plane as it was then — the bottom level for cargo, the middle level for essentially all the presidential functions, and the top, smaller level for the crew and communications ...

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/23/nx-s1-5406188/qatar-gift-plane-trump-air-force-one-overhaul-explained