A closer look at Air Force One and the executive fleet

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A closer look at Air Force One and the executive fleet

'Special Report' anchor and executive editor Bret Baier shows how aircraft in the executive fleet are improved and updated.

President Donald Trump has his sights on a new version of Air Force One as delays and cost overruns continue to plague Boeing’s long-awaited presidential aircraft replacements.

The most recent data from 2020 says at least 20 planes make up the executive fleet. A newly constructed plane has not been added in nearly 27 years. Some of those currently in service are expected to stay flying for another 13 years.

"They're not building the plane fast enough. I mean, they're actually in default," Trump said about Boeing in a February interview with Sean Hannity.

Air Force One is used to designate any Air Force aircraft carrying the commander in chief. There are currently two highly customized Boeing aircraft that were deployed in 1990 when George H.W. Bush was president. The planes have since carried presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump, Joe Biden and now Trump once again.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: THE QATAR AIR FORCE ONE JET

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pa., Aug. 3, 2025.  (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)

"I miss Air Force One," Bush said at an event for Veterans in 2014. "In eight years, they never lost my baggage."

The two forthcoming Boeing planes have been plagued by delays due to the complex technology needed onboard Air Force One.

"They've got to debug it, make sure there's no signal intelligence risks. And I think just to make it secure against any potential military attacks. It was ironic for a long time. It was one of the prince's planes, which I think they were trying to sell. And now they're giving it to the U.S., and it's costing quite a bit to update," Jay Solomon, a staff writer for the Free Press, said.

The Qatari jet is estimated to have a faster timeline than the two Boeing planes, but it still needs some of the same technology to make it Air Force One.

"If you look at it just through economics, maybe it makes sense, but I still think the fact that we're allowing a foreign country to gift something of that magnitude to a sitting president — on top of all these other concerns — I think it's a risk, and it's not a good look," Soloman said. 

Air Force One is required to have four engines, unlike most of today’s passenger planes, which have two. Onboard is the highest level of classified communications and external protection against foreign surveillance. The planes are equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities so they can fly for as long as needed. Air Force One is built for the worst possible scenarios, like nuclear war, so that the president can still command military forces from the sky.

"They're extremely complex, and I'm not going to go into it, but they're not like a normal plane. You know, it's not like building a 747 normal," Trump said during his Middle East Trip on "Special Report" in May.

TRUMP ACCEPTS JET FROM QATAR, WILL REFIT TO SERVE AS AIR FORCE ONE, DOD SAYS

Qatari military aircraft perform a flyover before President Donald Trump departs on Air Force One from Al Udeid Air Base, en-route to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in Doha, Qatar, May 15, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Air Force officials say it is possible to add some of the security features to the Qatari jet, but it's unlikely to have the full suite of technology by Trump's February timeline.

"Initially, it was supposed to be like, 'Maybe he'll get it done by the end of his presidency,'" Solomon said.

Four modified Boeing 757s or C-32As are the newest planes in the executive fleet. Those were added in 1998 and 1999. The Air Force is studying potential replacement options, but the current planes will continue to fly until 2038. The aircraft are primarily used by the vice president, Cabinet members, members of Congress and other officials.

"Even today, and regardless of the airplane, we have to operate it differently based on the threat environment that even the current or any of the future aircraft will go into. Again, can't talk in detail about that, but that is always a consideration," Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said during a June Senate Hearing. 

Air Force One isn’t the only aging plane; much of the executive fleet is more than two decades old. The aircraft have undergone modernization modifications, but officials have questioned the timeline for major updates as several incidents have taken place over the years.

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The Boeing 777X and Boeing 737 MAX 10 planes are among models considered for an updated executive fleet. (Reuters/Lindsey Wasson)

In 2014, Obama was forced to switch planes during a campaign event in Philadelphia after a minor mechanical problem was reported on Air Force One.

In 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris' plane requested an emergency return to Joint Base Andrews as she began her first foreign trip overseas to Guatemala and Mexico.

Most recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s plane was forced to turn around while en route to Munich in February due to a mechanical issue.

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The newest aircraft among the executive fleet are the Marine One Helicopters. Biden first rode in the newly designed Marine One in 2024 during the Democratic National Convention. Updating those took nearly two decades and, in some cases, replaced helicopters flying since the 1970s.

The Boeing 777X is expected to be the next new major commercial aircraft. It’s scheduled to enter service in 2026 after a nearly six-year delay with Lufthansa taking the first flight. The modernized plane is designed to have a folding wingtip, a touchscreen flight deck and wider cabin space.