Boeing was supposed to deliver a replacement for Air Force One last year, but significant delays have cost the plane maker billions on the project. They have also drawn ire from the president, who told reporters aboard Air Force One in February that he was “not happy with Boeing” and may purchase a plane elsewhere.

Security experts told BI that the work required to make a plane from Qatar ready to be Air Force One would be like building a new plane.

The CCA, also known as a “loyal wingman,” is a new type of uncrewed weapon system that could fly alongside new and existing crewed fighter jets.

Meink, who has decades of experience in the military and in government, was easily confirmed in a 74-25 vote despite allegations of favoring Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The US Air Force is pushing to speed up the delivery of the new Air Force One as President Trump wants a new aircraft before his second term ends in 2029.

The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades, and Trump is eager to replace them. During his first term, he displayed a model of a new jumbo jet in the Oval Office, complete with a revised paint scheme that echoed the red, white and dark blue design of his personal plane.

Like Saudi Arabia did a day earlier, Qatar gave Trump's Air Force One a ceremonial escort from its F-15 fighter jets — an exceptionally rare sight.

Online users, primarily posting on Facebook, copied and pasted a made-up rumor about the former vice chief of staff of the Air Force.