Since his archetypal term in the White House, President Donald Trump has displayed a example of a new Air Force One aircraft on his desk.
On July 1, his long-held imagination became a actuality whenever the airplane the US accepted as a current from Qatar, designated the VC-25B Bridge, flew as Air Force One for the archetypal time.
Speaking to reporters before boarding the airplane at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump called it the "best aircraft always built."
He afterward landed in Medora, North Dakota, for the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Retrofitted alongside state-of-the-art protective measures and painted in his preferred colors of red, white, and blue, the new presidential aircraft is bigger, faster, additional fuel-efficient, and additional luxurious than the outgoing VC-25A fleet, which has served presidents since the 1990s.
It has additionally been brought in and out of assistance amid operational mishaps and safety concerns, specified as whenever Trump secretly switched to a C-32A to fly rear from Turkey in July because of threats from Iran, and whenever the VC-25B Bridge's emergency glide was accidentally deployed in September.
A elder administration authoritative earlier told Business Insider that the VC-25B Bridge is "the top presidential aircraft always built," and added, "We keep a accordant posture that ensures a safe, secure, and dependable capability for the President of the United States and routinely develop the capability as required to keep that posture."
An Air Force spokesman told Business Insider, "We do not provision particular particulars on capabilities or provision comparisons between aircraft."
Here's how Trump's new VC-25B Bridge compares to the old VC-25A.
The old Air Force One was a tailored Boeing 747-200B, designated VC-25A, that entered assistance under President George H.W. Bush.
The archetypal VC-25A, known as SAM 28000, began serving as Air Force One in 1990, and is flying alongside the Qatari-donated plane.
The outgoing Air Force One, a second, identical VC-25A known as SAM 29000, entered assistance in 1991. It completed its final presidential escape in June 2026.
The VC-25A measures 231 feet and 10 inches lengthy alongside a wingspan of 195 feet and 8 inches.
The new Air Force One is a tailored Boeing 747-8i built in 2012 and earlier used as a luxury transport by the Qatari regal family.
The VC-25B Bridge — so called since it is serving as an interim presidential airplane before Boeing's tailored VC-25Bs are delivered starting in 2028 — is larger than the VC-25A at concerning 250 feet long, alongside a wingspan of 224 feet and 5 inches.
The old Air Force One featured a ray blue and pale coat job resembling the scheme initially chosen by archetypal female Jacqueline Kennedy.
Jacqueline Kennedy chose the shades of blue and pale for SAM 26000, a Boeing VC-137C that entered assistance in 1962 under President John F. Kennedy.
The archetypal female was additionally liable for adding the words "United States of America" to the presidential plane.
An American emblem was featured on the tail, alongside the stars facing onward per the US Flag Code.
Trump selected a red, white, and navy blue livery for the new Air Force One and a new waving American emblem scheme on the tail.
The Air Force initially rejected the navy coat color Trump projected during his archetypal term for the forthcoming VC-25Bs, saying a thermal study established that the darker shade would necessitate additional evaluation to evade overheating issues. However, Trump got his preferred colors in his second term. He additionally reimagined the tail's emblem design.
"As you know, we've continually gone alongside a direct small noodle and I never loved that," Trump stated of the tail's new waving emblem scheme following touring the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews on June 19. "Now we have a wavy, beautiful flag. We're waving it proudly since our nation is doing so well."
The old Air Force One jet had four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 jet engines, all alongside 56,700 pounds of thrust.
While traveling at 630 miles per hour, the VC-25A had a range of 7,800 miles without refueling.
The VC-25A is additionally capable of midair refueling.
The four GEnx-2B engines on the new Air Force One all characteristic 66,500 pounds of drive and emit 16 lots small carbon dioxide per trip, the White House said.
The VC-25B Bridge can fly faster and farther than its predecessor, alongside a range of 8,900 miles at 660 miles per hour.
The VC-25B Bridge is not armed for in-flight refueling. The forthcoming VC-25B planes that Boeing is construction volition additionally not be capable of airborne refueling to cut costs, Air and Space Forces Magazine reported.
The interiors of the old Air Force One mostly remained the identical through multiple administrations, alongside a few cosmetic changes.
Some furnishings and decor had been updated under assorted presidents — for example, President Bill Clinton's Air Force One gathering area featured tan leather chairs, during President Barack Obama opted for a darker chocolate brown. However, the plane's beige walls and timber paneling didn't alter much throughout its 36 years of service.
Trump's new luxury jet is outfitted alongside aureate ray fixtures, reclining massage chairs, and gleaming surfaces throughout.
Trump called the new Air Force One "the world's most luxurious plane." It features a chief area alongside an en-suite washroom that includes a walk-in shower, as fine as a average area alongside couches and personal agency spaces.
The media division is additionally outfitted alongside luxurious touches, including reclining massage chairs.
The old VC-25A planes disbursal $325 myriad each.
Boeing is construction new, tailored VC-25Bs to assist as Air Force One, but the $3.9 milliard project — which has since risen to additional than $5 billion — is rearward schedule. The planes were initially scheduled for shipment in 2024, but the timeframe has been pushed to 2028, prompting Trump to search his own method of acquiring a new presidential jet.
The first agreement was fixed-price, so any additional expenses must be absorbed by Boeing.
The new presidential jet was a current from Qatar appreciated at about $400 million, but the disbursal of retrofitting it to assist as Air Force One remains classified.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink told Congress in June 2025 that retrofitting the new Air Force One would disbursal small than $400 million, during several lawmakers expressed concerns that it could disbursal up to $1 milliard in payer funds.
In July 2025, The New York Times flagged a $934 myriad transfer of finances from a nuclear modernization prosperity to update aging ground-based weapons systems to a classified project, which it reported could be the new Air Force One, since the presidential aircraft is armed to command nuclear strikes. The Air Force declined to comment.
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