Qatar Gave the Plane. Nuclear-Missile Money Helped Pay to Fly It.

On June 19, 2026, the US unveiled a new Air Force One — a Boeing 747-8 that Qatar gave to the United States. Making a foreign government's jet fit to fly the president cost a fortune, and the bill came from an unexpected place.

The gift

The jet — an interim Air Force One while Boeing finishes two permanent replacements around 2028 — was presented at Joint Base Andrews. Its value is usually put near $400 million, though some market assessments put it far lower ($100–125M).

The money

The conversion was funded with money the Air Force redirected from the Sentinel intercontinental-missile program. The New York Times traced a $934 million transfer out of the over-budget Sentinel program into classified work that includes the jet, and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink confirmed Sentinel funds paid for the conversion. But the exact retrofit cost is classified — official estimates run from "under $400M" (Meink's own) to about $1 billion. So "the retrofit cost $934 million" isn't quite right. The honest version: nuclear-deterrent money is paying to fly a foreign gift, and the real bill is hidden from the public.

The owner

Legally, the jet transfers to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation — a private nonprofit — no later than January 1, 2029, with the Air Force covering transfer costs. Critics, including a Senate resolution, call that distinction cosmetic, since such foundations are controlled by and benefit the president; defenders point to the nonprofit structure as proof it's not a personal gift. Whether it's "his" is the entire fight.

The objections were bipartisan

Lawmakers filed Foreign Emoluments Clause resolutions (S.Res.244, H.Res.410) and opened an investigation; conservative voices objected too. The clause bars federal officials from taking gifts from foreign states without Congress's consent.

The thing nobody says out loud

A foreign government's gift is being made airworthy with money meant for nuclear deterrence, and is headed for the president's foundation in 2029 — and the part that's actually secret is how much you paid for it.

Receipts: CBS, NPR, CNBC (gift; ~$400M est.; unveiled June 19 2026; interim VC-25B); FactCheck.org, Bloomberg (valuation range); Defense One (SecAF Meink confirms Sentinel funds), NYT (the $934M Sentinel→classified transfer), Snopes (retrofit cost classified); ABC News (transfer to the Trump Library Foundation by Jan 1 2029, Air Force pays); Congress.gov (S.Res.244, H.Res.410).