Trump unveils new Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews

The new presidential jet landed where Prince George’s County feels federal power most directly: Joint Base Andrews. Inside a hangar on the Maryland base, President Donald Trump unveiled a modified Boeing 747-8 on June 19, a plane the U.S. Air Force said had entered the commissioning phase before it could be used for presidential missions.

For neighbors living around Andrews, the significance goes well beyond the aircraft’s red, white and navy paint scheme. The base is the home of the presidential airlift mission and the main departure point for presidential travel, which means any major Air Force One event can bring a tighter security perimeter, heavier traffic and restricted access near the installation’s gates and surrounding roads.

The Air Force said the aircraft was delivered to the Presidential Airlift Group on June 19 and will undergo additional commissioning flights to validate its safety, security and communications systems. Those checks matter because the plane is meant to move the president, not just look the part. Andrews is already the center of that mission, with the 89th Airlift Wing handling global Special Air Mission airlift, logistics, aerial port and communications for the president, vice president, cabinet members and senior leaders.

That wing’s fleet includes two VC-25A aircraft, four C-32A aircraft, four C-40B aircraft and 11 C-37A/B aircraft. Its presence is one reason Prince George’s County remains so intertwined with the federal government’s most sensitive travel operations, even when the national spotlight is aimed elsewhere.

Trump said the current presidential aircraft are aging and argued that the United States should be represented properly. He also said he had asked Qatar’s emir about using the jet while waiting for the new Boeing aircraft already on order. The aircraft, which reporting last year said was initially valued at about $400 million, has drawn ethics, legal and security criticism because it came from a foreign government and was intended for use by the president.

The controversy also revives a longer-running Boeing delay that has left the Air Force still waiting for the replacement VC-25B aircraft. Boeing’s contract for two new presidential planes was set at $3.9 billion in 2018, with delivery originally targeted for 2024. The first aircraft is now expected in mid-2028.

For Prince George’s County, the unveiling was another reminder that Andrews is not just a military base on the county line. It is a national staging ground where presidential travel, military readiness and local life repeatedly collide, and where the burden of high-profile federal operations often lands first on county roads, county agencies and nearby residents.