Since his first term in the White House, President Donald Trump has displayed a model of a new Air Force One plane on his desk. On July 1, his long-held vision became a reality when the aircraft the US accepted as a gift from Qatar, designated the VC-25B Bridge, flew as Air Force One for the first time. Speaking to reporters before boarding the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump called it the "best plane ever built." He later landed in Medora, North Dakota, for the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Retrofitted with state-of-the-art protective measures and painted in his favored colors of red, white, and blue, the new presidential plane is bigger, faster, more fuel-efficient, and more luxurious than the outgoing VC-25A fleet, which has served presidents since the 1990s. It has also been brought in and out of service amid operational mishaps and security concerns, such as when Trump secretly switched to a C-32A to fly back from Turkey in July due to threats from Iran, and when the VC-25B Bridge's emergency slide was accidentally deployed in September.

A senior administration official previously told Business Insider that the VC-25B Bridge is "the greatest presidential plane ever built," and added, "We maintain a consistent posture that ensures a safe, secure, and reliable capability for the President of the United States and routinely evolve the capability as required to maintain that posture." An Air Force spokesperson told Business Insider, "We do not provide specific details on capabilities or provide comparisons between aircraft."

Here's how Trump's new VC-25B Bridge compares to the old VC-25A.