Trump Says He Will ‘Max Out’ Qatar’s Luxury Jet in Just One Month. Experts Say the Claim Doesn’t Add Up
President Donald Trump‘s plans for the Boeing 747 acquired from Qatar’s royal family have continued to draw attention as the administration prepares another round of upgrades to the aircraft. The White House has confirmed more work is planned later this year but has not said what changes will be made.
The Air Force has also declined to comment on the planned upgrades. As a result, the administration has shared few details about what the next phase of work on the aircraft will include.
According to HuffPost, Trump returned to the issue on Sunday after he was asked why he was flying a Boeing 747 that does not appear to have the missile defense systems found on Air Force One aircraft. He said the jet would be “maxed out” in about a month, a timeline that aviation experts quickly questioned.
The claim left aviation experts scratching their heads
Trump said, “As I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re going to send it to have it be maxed out. So they’re going to be sending it, and they’ll have it be maxed out. It’ll take about a month.”
Trump did not explain what he meant by “maxed out” or specify which upgrades the aircraft would receive during that period. The Air Force declined to comment on what modifications are planned for the aircraft after taking custody of it last year. The White House also did not say whether missile defense systems or other defensive equipment would be included in the upcoming work.
Instead, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement saying, “The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the president’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete. During that time, the president will fly on the old Air Force One.”
Leavitt’s statement confirmed another round of upgrades but stopped short of identifying the systems or equipment that will be added to the aircraft. The timeline described by Trump immediately drew skepticism from aviation specialists familiar with military aircraft modification programs.
Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory questioned whether work of that scale could be completed within the period Trump outlined. “I assume this is more for satirical value,” Aboulafia said. “The idea of installing it in a month is comical.”
Jeremiah Gertler, an aviation analyst with the Teal Group who has worked extensively with U.S. government agencies, also said he was unaware of any plan matching the president’s description. “This is the first that I or anybody else in the business has heard about it,” Gertler said of Trump’s plans to “max out” the Qatari jet.
Gertler said major aircraft modification programs generally move through several stages before new systems can become operational. “First there’s the design part, figuring out where it will go. Then you’ve got the installation, and then you’ve got the integration,” he said. “There would not be a precedent for doing it quickly for a plane that you haven’t been working with.”
He added that even installing an infrared missile defense system on an accelerated schedule could require taking equipment already allocated to another aircraft. Aboulafia also questioned whether meaningful work could be completed within a month even if the project were limited in scope. “You could maybe spiff up the carpets in a month, if they need spiffing. But that’s about it,” he said.
Trump has continued to defend acquiring the Qatari Boeing 747, arguing that it provides a suitable aircraft while Boeing continues work on the next generation of Air Force One. He has also argued that the United States president should fly an aircraft comparable in size to those used by other world leaders. Trump has also praised the aircraft, calling it the “world’s most luxurious plane.”
(Featured Image: Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA 2.0)
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