On Board the 'Bridge' Air Force One

New livery and original Qatari design set jet apart from earlier VC-25As.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, June 22, 2026 at 02:51 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

The new Air Force One, known as the VC-25B Bridge [Credit: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The new temporary Air Force One, designated VC-25B Bridge, a modified Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, made its public debut with a distinct dark blue, white, red, and gold livery.
Its interior largely retains luxurious elements from its previous Qatari royal service, and while it includes advanced communications like Starlink, it may not possess all security features of previous presidential aircraft due to expedited modifications.
This jet will serve as a "bridge" solution until the permanent VC-25B aircraft are delivered and will undergo commissioning flights before officially entering service for presidential missions.

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The next aircraft set to serve as Air Force One made its first public appearance on Friday, striking both a visual and symbolic contrast from the time-honored VC-25As that have flown the president since 1990.

The jet, referred to by the military as the VC-25B Bridge, is a modified Boeing 747-8 donated last year by the government of Qatar to President Donald Trump. The Air Force has spent several months and an unclear amount of money modifying it to reach the exacting air safety and security standards of the presidential airlift program.