The Air Force has not divulged how much it reprogrammed in fiscal 2024 funds from the Sentinel to modify the Qatari jet for use as a stand-in Air Force One by President Donald Trump.
The Qatari gift of a Boeing 747-8i luxury airliner to the U.S. for use as Air Force One was a gift that President Trump welcomed, at least in part due to delays in the VC-25B program. The program to modify the Qatari jet to Air Force One standards, including the amounts required, is classified, but neither the Pentagon nor the U.S. Air Force have explained why the Air Force is allowed to classify the program, given the yearly budget submissions that list program details and amounts for the VC-25B.
The New York Times reported that the amount was $934 million. The Qatari government and DoD recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the transfer of the Qatari 747-8i, and the jet is parked at a classified facility in San Antonio, Texas where it awaits modifications by L3Harris Technologies to meet Air Force One requirements.
Congressional appropriators have received a “spend plan” from the Pentagon on how it plans to use the broad reprogramming afforded DoD by the fiscal 2025 yearlong continuing resolution. That spending plan includes re-programmings from Sentinel to “classified programs.”
“The more we learn about this deal, the more disturbing it becomes,” according to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense (SAC-D) panel. “The security implications of accepting a private plane from a foreign nation as Air Force One and the resulting ethical concerns a gift of that size creates were already significant. So, it’s even more troubling that this Administration is diverting funds from the nuclear modernization budget to finance costly renovations to this plane.”
Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily originally published this article.