Various news services are reporting the Qatari government will donate the use of its royal family's former Boeing 747-8 executive transport aircraft as a replacement for the current VC-25 aircraft now used as Air Force One. Reports have swirled for months that Trump, unhappy with the pace of construction on two multi-billion-dollar replacements for those converted 747-200s that went into service 34 years ago, wanted to speed up the process. The Qatari plane visited West Palm Beach in February and was toured by Trump and his wife Melania.
Meanwhileā¦
The USA canāt even make a 747 in 15 years.
There is zero security, strength, or prosperity in the fact that the USA has become so impotent.
This has absolutely, positively nothing to do with Boeing embedding the future maintenance of this flying palace in a trillion dollar contract for the F-47, which was based on a powerpoint presentationā¦ Heil to the Emperor
Why is so much trust given to Boeing given their track record of recent times. Send it to China who will refit it cheaper and quicker with the same tech recently acquired by China anyway!
The corruption of this administration boggles the mind. Itās surpassed only by our nationās (half of it anyway) acceptance of it. We are circling the drain. But ā¦ weāll get to see some great aircraft flyovers at the Kingās birthday parade this June.
The idea of a presidential library owning a jet for the personal use of an ex-president is not anything that real presidential libraries do. All except Trumpās are nonprofit museums controlled by a board. They arenāt things established for the use of the ex-President and his family. The AF1 used by Reagan is part of his presidential library but itās a nonflying piece of the museum. Oh, and Newsweek reports that before joining the Trump administration as AG Pam Bondi was paid $115k per month to lobby for Qatar.
Qatar has been pouring money into colleges in the US, which promotes anti-Semitism.
Qatar tries to position itself as some kind of mediator, quietly MugWump in behaviour. I wonder what Saudis think of Qatar.
As for the airplane, there are other ostentatious ones in Arab states, that one has the full upper deck option - is a -8 which is fairly new. Aft fuselage has several bump antennas. Apparently the Qatar regime decided it wasnāt worth the upkeep for what may have been little use.
I hope Trump has excellent security on his forthcoming trip. Will Arab states accept F-35 escorts? (Suicidal ramming is a risk.)
Enough risk at the G7 palavar in āKananaskis Villageā west of Calgary AB mid-June this year. Aerial exclusion area seems small given speed of some business aircraft. Conferences usually held in hotel there, not āglampingā in the bush, so attendees are easy to target.
Having a CF-18 airborne 24/7 would be costly. Ground-based missile defense needed. (Perhaps Ukraine could spare a couple of its aicraft-downing UAVs.
(Security will be tight, pre-clearance required to live or do business near the village.
It was evident for the last big conference, I observed driving from Edmonton past the area on Highway 1. US Army driving south from Edmonton, Springbank airport occupied, clean cut males in new 4bys lounging on banks beside the freeway,)
I commend Trump for trying hard to do something about Iranās threat to annihilate Jews in Israel with nuclear weapons.
In the coming trip heās probably trying to advance the Abraham Accords. People like the Saudis fear Iran as they know it would oppress them with nuclear weapons. Iran will be a prime topic.
The Epoch Times expects him to scrounge investments in the US from rich Arab states.
This is a gift horse where one hopes the security folks look at its molars very, very carefully. No telling how many microphones, trackers, or other hostile devices get inserted before being handed over to the US.
And lemme get this straight: The US Government is going to spend tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to convert this aircraft and then get less than three yearsā use out of it before it goes into the presidential library? Whereās DOGE when we need them?
(Suicidal ramming is a risk.)