When President Donald Trump announced he would be leaving the NATO summit in Turkey aboard the old Air Force One, rather than the newer Qatari airliner, he claimed it was so that American service personnel could tour his luxurious new ride.
But his post raised more questions than answers.
Could the new $400 million plane, his “palace on wings”, have developed a fault during its inaugural international trip? Or was there something more sinister? Was the hurriedly outfitted 747 more vulnerable to threats from Iran, which shares a border with Turkey, and which Trump had just threatened to strike again?
Trump himself wasn’t telling.
In a Truth Social post, he announced: “To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft — Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first.”
He would fly to the U.K. on the backup plane “for old time’s sake.”
Trump had proudly shown off his new transport during two domestic trips last week. His top aides shared a series of posts saying farewell to the two VC-25As (modified 747-200s) that had been in service since 1990.
So it was no surprise that when Trump arrived in Ankara for the gathering of world leaders, he was traveling aboard the new plane, a gift from the Qatari royal family.
It is kitted out as a “bridge” for use while the White House awaits two long-delayed, modified Boeings.
And it comes with all the luxury features that the president values — thick carpets, wood paneling, and even a small library, according to pictures shared by staff.
The downside is that security experts believe there was not enough time to equip it with some of the complex electronic countermeasures and communications systems that were fitted on the older places.
Trump did nothing to dismiss the idea that the switch in planes was a security precaution.
“I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” he said during a press conference when asked whether the change was caused by threats. “They’re lovely people.”
PHOTOS: TRUMP DEBUTS NEW AIR FORCE ONE PLANE FROM QATAR
The plane, which made its maiden voyage last week, faced a tight timetable to be pressed into service. And images of the jet analyzed by the Associated Press showed it lacked at least some of the defensive systems and communications antennae of the outgoing Cold War-era jets.
Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, said the same company that was working on the future presidential jets had modified the Qatari jets.
“They’re taking brand new aircraft where they can do anything at all with them, and it’s taking them years to put in the full suite of communications and defensive gear, so the timeline suggests that things were left off of this jet that would normally be on Air Force One,” he said.
He added that infrared defensive systems appeared to be missing from behind the engines, where they could be seen on the existing planes. As a result, he suggested it might be better used for domestic trips rather than dicier international travel.
Analysis by The War Zone newsletter also concluded that there would have been insufficient time to harden the plane to protect it from the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear weapon going off, for example.
Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA official, said he suspected that security officials had urged a switch in plane.
“Qatar Force One not equipped with appropriate comms/force pro/security package for intl duty,” he posted. “Secret Service and USAF pleas must have won out, over Trump’s vanity project.”
Officials privately played down worries, insisting that it was perfectly normal for a backup plane to fly with the president so that changes could be made.
“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff,” said Steven Cheung, White House communications director. “As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats.”
Gertler said the Secret Service was constantly evaluating the threat environment and recommending changes, when necessary, to travel plans.
He said there could be a more mundane reason for using one of the older planes to fly to the U.K.
He pointed out that Trump had specified they would be flying to Mildenhall.
“That’s an air base that specializes in larger aircraft and in doing things like quick turn repair,” he said. “So if something simple, mechanical had happened, the sort of thing that could happen to any jet, then it’s likely that where they would take it.”
Either way, Air Force One was on its way home at about 8:43 p.m. local time.
The final pool report, sent by a journalist at the back of the plane, offered one last intriguing detail that hinted at security worries: “We have been advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed.”
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