Overview
- The Air Force, which announced Friday that the VC-25B Bridge jet had finished modifications and flight tests, said the 747-8i is now being painted for a summer rollout.
- The jet is a former Qatari head-of-state 747-8i accepted in May 2025 and converted by L3Harris under roughly $400 million in work focused on secure, top-secret communications.
- Officials have not said whether the aircraft now has hardened defenses, in-flight refueling, or other survivability features comparable to the current VC-25A fleet.
- Reporting says the luxury interior largely remains, with tradeoffs that include no dedicated press cabin and no capacity for “Golden Eagle” remains flights due to smaller rear doors.
- The acceptance of a high-value foreign gift has drawn constitutional and security scrutiny, and U.S. specialists dismantled sections of the aircraft to check for hidden surveillance before clearing it.