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Air Force’s Interim ‘Air Force One’ Finishes Testing, Set for Summer Handover

A Qatar-gifted 747-8i was rapidly converted to cover the gap left by delayed VC-25B deliveries.

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A VC-25B Bridge aircraft takes off for flight testing at Greenville, Texas. The aircraft recently completed modification and flight-testing phases, entering maintenance to be painted in red, white, gold and blue livery. The program remains on schedule to deliver the Bridge aircraft to the Presidential Airlift Group no later than summer 2026. (Image credit: Courtesy photo)
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Overview

  • The Air Force said the VC-25B Bridge jet has wrapped modification and flight testing and is now in paint ahead of a planned handover to the Presidential Airlift Group this summer.
  • The interim aircraft is a former Qatari Boeing 747-8i that L3Harris modified in Waco, Texas, to keep presidential travel covered as the aging VC-25A fleet undergoes heavy upkeep and the new VC-25B slips.
  • Leaders put the conversion cost at under $400 million, with funding drawn from unspent money in the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program.
  • To build crews and parts support, the Air Force leased an Atlas Air 747-8F for pilot training from October 2025 through February 2026 and bought two former Lufthansa 747-8is for dedicated trainers and a spares pool.
  • After concerns about using a pre-owned head-of-state jet, specialists from multiple U.S. agencies carried out technical security checks to detect and remove hidden threats, and officials have withheld details of any survivability upgrades.