President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One, on his return from Detroit, Michigan, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on January 13, 2026. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters )
The new jet will be set to take to the skies in the summer of 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, following the Pentagon retrofitting the jet and combing through it for security and spying devices.
Both Democrats and Republicans criticized Trump after he announced the Department of Defense planned to accept the jumbo jet from the government of Qatar in May 2025, arguing the gift is riddled with both espionage concerns and constitutional questions.
"The Air Force remains committed to expediting delivery of the VC-25 bridge aircraft in support of the Presidential airlift mission, with an anticipated delivery no later than summer 2026," an Air Force spokesperson told the outlet.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House Thursday for additional comment on the matter.
TRUMP’S ‘SMALL ASK’ FOR GREENLAND WOULD BE THE REAL ESTATE DEAL OF A LIFETIME
Air Force One experienced a "minor electrical issue" after takeoff at 10:20 p.m. and returned "out of an abundance of caution," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday evening.
Reporters on the flight said the lights in the cabin went out before the plane returned to Maryland around 45 minutes into the trip.
Leavitt joked aboard the plane that a Qatari jet sounded "much better" at the moment, Fox News Digital previously reported.
A Boeing 747-8 sits on tarmac. (Getty Images)
"We're very disappointed that it's taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One," Trump said during a press conference in May. "You know, we have an Air Force One that's 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it's not even the same ballgame."
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg acknowledged Trump's dissatisfaction with the speed of building two Boeing 747 jumbo jets in February 2025, and said the company was working to speed the process along. The U.S. government continues to hold a contract with Boeing for the planes, with the Air Force reporting in December 2025 that the first jet should be delivered by mid-2028, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump had railed against a government deal with Boeing to build a new fleet of Air Force Ones ahead of his first administration, posting on social media in December 2016 that the "costs are out of control, more than $4 billion" to build the two aircraft.
Fox News Digital's Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/air-force-one-glitch-revives-replacement-push-white-house-says-proves-trump-right-again