Air Force Chief Gives New Price Tag for Qatari Jet Retrofit

Secretary Troy Meink indicates the work will probably amount to less than $400 million.

Friday, June 06, 2025 at 11:00 AM ET

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The Qatari 747-8 on the runway at Palm Beach International Airport, where President Donald Trump toured it in February. [Shutterstock/Leonard Zhukovsky]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Air Force estimates the cost to retrofit a Qatari jet, gifted to former President Trump, into the new Air Force One will be less than $400 million, refuting earlier speculations of higher costs up to $1 billion.
The extensive overhaul of the Boeing 747-8i will take years, involving dismantling, reassembly, and the installation of advanced, top-secret communications, hardened defenses, countermeasures, and anti-spying systems.
The acquisition of the jet has drawn criticism due to disputes over how it was offered, concerns about potential security risks (like listening devices), and perceived conflicts of interest.

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It will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars to retrofit a Qatari jet given as a gift to President Donald Trump, the head of the U.S. Air Force said Thursday, but not $1 billion as speculated by some critics and probably not even $400 million, the figure first provided by the Trump administration.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told members of the House Armed Services Committee that earlier estimates put forward by some elected officials and the media were overblown, according to a report from The Hill.

Zach Vasile

Zach Vasile is a writer and editor covering news in all aspects of aviation. He has reported for and contributed to the Manchester Journal Inquirer, the Hartford Business Journal, the Charlotte Observer, and the Washington Examiner, with his area of focus being the intersection of business and government policy.