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The Boeing 747-8i gifted to the United States by the government of Qatar is on track to enter service as Air Force One by July 4, 2026, in time for the country's 250th Independence Day celebrations.According to Reuters and the US Air Force, the aircraft has completed modification and flight testing and is now being repainted at L3Harris Technologies' facilities in Waco and Greenville, Texas. Boeing has provided engineering data support throughout the project.The 13-year-old aircraft, originally delivered to the Qatari royal family in 2012, was officially accepted by the Pentagon in May 2025. The upgrades required to convert it for presidential use include hardened security systems, classified communications equipment, missile detection sensors, and anti-missile countermeasures. The aircraft has been designated VC-25B Bridge.The aircraft will also receive a new livery, the most significant visual change to the presidential fleet in over 60 years.The iconic robin's egg blue and white livery, designed by industrial designer Raymond Loewy in 1962 during the Kennedy administration, is being retired. In its place, the Qatar-gifted 747 will fly in a new four-color scheme of red, white, dark blue, and gold, with an American flag on the vertical stabilizer and a military roundel near the rear of the fuselage.The new design will appear across the entire executive airlift fleet, including the four Boeing 757-200s used by the Vice President and Cabinet, and the two new Boeing VC-25Bs still under conversion at Boeing's facilities.The Qatar 747-8 is a stopgap solution. Boeing's official VC-25B replacement program, which has been underway since 2018, is now running approximately four years behind schedule, with delivery not expected until 2028. The original $3.9 billion contract has since grown past $5 billion.The current Air Force One fleet of two Boeing 747-200B aircraft, designated VC-25A, has been in service since 1990. With the Qatar 747-8 set to join later this year, the presidential fleet will briefly grow to three aircraft before the older jets are eventually retired later this decade.Sources: Reuters, NPR, Defense News, US Air Force