The U.S. Air Force is redirecting money intended for an intercontinental ballistic missile system to pay for the overhaul of a Qatari jet that will serve as the next Air Force One.
Inside Defense reported that “surplus” from the LGM-35 Sentinel program will fund the retrofit, which will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars and could take up to three years. The online news outlet cited an unnamed senior Air Force official.
The aircraft, once owned by Qatar’s prime minister and royal family, is a 13-year-old Boeing 747-8 registered as P4-HBJ. The Qatari government offered it directly to President Donald Trump for free as a gift, and Trump, frustrated by the slow pace of Boeing’s VC-25replacement program, accepted. The U.S. Defense Department took delivery of the aircraft on May 21.
Aviation experts have said the $400 million jet will have to be dismantled and reassembled to check its integrity and sweep for listening devices. It will also need top-secret communications and anti-eavesdropping systems installed.
Overhaul Contract
The Defense Department has said it will soon award a contract for the refurbishment.
Boeing is in the process of converting two 747-8s into a special military model, known as the VC-25, which will eventually take over as the new Air Force One. The company was supposed to deliver the aircraft in 2024, but work delays and supply chain issues have pushed that date back to at least 2027.
The LGM-35 has been under development for close to 10 years. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in partnership with subcontractors like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Honeywell, it will replace hundreds of land-based Minutemen III intercontinental ballistic missiles based in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
The cost of the Sentinel program has increased from about $77 billion at its inception to roughly $140 billion, triggering an intervention by Congress. Still, the Defense Department has stood by the project and aims to start testing the next-generation missiles by 2028.
