WASHINGTON — A new Air Force One plane that originated as a 747 jumbo jet gifted by Qatar will be available to transport the president beginning in July, following a 10-month sprint by L3Harris to deliver the plane last week, a company executive told Breaking Defense.
President Donald Trump accepted the controversial Qatari gift during a delivery ceremony on Friday at Joint Base Andrews, Md., following months of criticism from lawmakers that the plane could open up security vulnerabilities and ethical concerns.
Trump said the new plane will lead a flyover of military aircraft on July 4 as part of Independence Day festivities in Washington.
“The workmanship of this plane is — when you see it, you won’t believe it,” he said at the delivery ceremony. “The quality of woods, the quality of the materials, the quality of the engines — these engines are the finest and the best in the world. Nothing like it.”
L3Harris was tasked to modify the Qatari jet by the July 4 deadline, resulting in a team of about 400 employees working 24/7 to deliver the plane in 10 months, Jason Lambert, president of L3Harris’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance division, said in an interview with Breaking Defense on Monday evening. Normally, the process would take several years.
