By DAVID SHEPARDSON and PHIL STEWART Reuters
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WASHINGTON — The United States has accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jetliner as a gift from Qatar and the Air Force has been asked to find a way to rapidly upgrade it for use as a new Air Force One to transport President Donald Trump, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accepted the jet for use as Trump’s official plane, the Pentagon said.

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Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Defense Department “will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered.”

Legal experts have questioned the scope of laws relating to gifts from foreign governments that aim to thwart corruption and improper influence. Democrats have also sought to block the handover.

Qatar has dismissed concerns about the aircraft deal. Trump has also shrugged off ethical concerns, saying it would be “stupid” not to accept the 747-8 jet.

When new, the jet had a $400 million list price, but analysts at Cirium said a second-hand 747-8 might fetch a quarter of that.

Retrofitting the 13-year-old plane, which has a luxurious interior, will require significant security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent spies from listening in and the ability to fend off incoming missiles, experts say.

The plane might need fighter jet escorts and could be restricted to flying inside the U.S. unless costly security upgrades were made, aviation experts and industry sources said previously.

Democratic Senators Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth said on Tuesday it could cost more than $1 billion to retrofit the plane and it raised dramatic security risks.

Duckworth said the United States has two fully operational Air Force One jets and has no need to retrofit the Qatari plane.

“Any civilian aircraft will take significant modifications,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. “We will make sure we do what’s necessary to ensure security of the aircraft.”

He said the Air Force had been directed to begin planning to address modifications to the plane.

The Pentagon has not said how much it will cost.