Trump Says he's Considering Buying Used Planes to Serve as Air Force One amid Boeing Delays

FILE PHOTO: Journalists board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland US December 6, 2016, on the morning that US President-elect Donald Trump urged the government to cancel purchase of Boeing's new Air Force One plane saying it was "ridiculous" and too expensive. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Journalists board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland US December 6, 2016, on the morning that US President-elect Donald Trump urged the government to cancel purchase of Boeing's new Air Force One plane saying it was "ridiculous" and too expensive. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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Trump Says he's Considering Buying Used Planes to Serve as Air Force One amid Boeing Delays

FILE PHOTO: Journalists board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland US December 6, 2016, on the morning that US President-elect Donald Trump urged the government to cancel purchase of Boeing's new Air Force One plane saying it was "ridiculous" and too expensive. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Journalists board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland US December 6, 2016, on the morning that US President-elect Donald Trump urged the government to cancel purchase of Boeing's new Air Force One plane saying it was "ridiculous" and too expensive. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering buying used Boeing aircraft — perhaps from an overseas seller — to use as Air Force One when he's aboard, as he fumes over the US plane-maker's delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use.
Speaking to reporters aboard one of the two nearly 35-year-old Boeing 747-200 aircraft in current use, Trump said, “We’re looking at alternatives, because it’s taking Boeing too long.”
“We may go and buy a plane,” Trump said, adding that he could then “convert it.”

He later clarified that he was ruling out purchasing aircraft of Airbus, the European company that is the only other global supplier on large wide-body aircraft, but would consider a second-hand Boeing plane, The Associated Press reported. “I would not consider Airbus. I could buy one from another country perhaps or get one from another country."
Boeing has the contract to produce updated versions, based on the more modern Boeing 747-8, but delivery has been delayed while the aircraft maker has lost billions of dollars on the deal, which was negotiated by Trump during his first term in office.
It's not the planes, rather the heavy modification to make them suitable for the requirements of presidential travel and the top-level security clearances required for those involved, that has added to the cost and delays. Trump already dropped a requirement for the new generation of planes, which will be known as the VC-25B, to be capable of air-to-air refueling, like the pair of existing VC-25As, which were designed during the Cold War.
Other modifications include highly classified communications equipment suitable for the country's commander-in-chief, survivability enhancements for a range of contingencies, and self-contained air-stairs, allowing for their use in austere landing environments.
Delivery initially was set for 2024, but has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 — Trump’s final year in office — for the second, according to the US Air Force.



Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants who attempted to enter the country from Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

It said the members of the Pakistani Taliban were spotted overnight in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the militants. The military's statement did not mention if there was a gunfight or other details of the operation.

The military alleged the militants were backed by India and asked the Afghan government to prevent the use of its territory by “foreign proxies” to attack Pakistan, The Associated Press reported.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Pakistani authorities often accuse India of backing outlawed groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Pakistani Taliban who commit violence in Pakistan. Such accusations have increased since a shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed nations.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the successful operation.

Pakistani troops killed 54 insurgents in the same area in April.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent months, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with them. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.