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The decision to have President Trump fly part of the way home on an old Air Force One instead of his newly refurbished and gifted plane from Qatar is raising questions about just how secure the new Air Force One really is.
The White House largely brushed off the decision, saying an abundance of caution from the Secret Service caused a change in plans, having Trump fly from a NATO summit in Turkey to the United Kingdom on an older Boeing 747 Air Force One before switching to the Qatari Boeing jet for the flight across the Atlantic.
Trump, for his part, announced he was taking the older Air Force One so that the newer one could be shown off at an air base in the U.K. but dodged questions about whether it was because there was worry about a possible assassination.
The change came amid new fighting with Iran as well as threats from Tehran that target the U.S. leader, which Trump acknowledged on Wednesday.
“I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” Trump told reporters.
The altered transportation plan highlighted the security concerns lawmakers and officials have raised about whether the Qatari-gifted jet was upgraded sufficiently to include defensive measures and other capabilities necessary to protect the commander in chief while traveling.
Richard Aboulafia, a military aviation consultant, said it can’t be known for sure what all the differences between the older Air Force One models and the newer one were, but it’s clear it was not up to par.
“We can’t say for sure because, of course, a lot of the systems and capabilities are classified, and in the case of this aircraft, particularly so, but it takes a lot more time and money than was put into this plane to equip an Air Force One to the level of capability that’s typically called for,” Aboulafia said in an interview with The Hill on Thursday.
He said the plane needs self-defensive capabilities, electronic countermeasures, chaff and flare dispensers, among other capabilities, to “protect the plane from any kind of imminent threat,” along with communications gear to allow for encrypted dispatches.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said during congressional testimony in June that the $1 billion estimates to retrofit the Qatari plane are too high.
“But a lot of those costs associated with that are costs that we’d have experienced anyway, we will just experience them early,” Meink told lawmakers. “So, it wouldn’t be anywhere near that.”
“We believe the actual retrofit of that aircraft is probably less than $400 million,” Meink added.
But Aboulafia said the money and time it took are way too short.
“The idea that that amount of time and money would do the job is laughable,” he said.
Jeremiah Gertler, who is a senior adviser at AeroDynamic Advisory and a Teal Group senior analyst, aired similar sentiments in a Thursday interview.
“The short amount of time and comparatively small amount of money spent on the bridge jet suggests that it would be difficult for it to have anywhere near the same equipment aboard that the VC-25Bs will,” Gertler said, referring to the next-generation jets to be used as Air Force One that are still being built. The Qatari jet is called the “bridge” plane.
“And if we just look at the amount of time that Boeing is taking to create those jets from scratch, where they didn’t have to take out anything that was already there, it’s much longer,” he said. “It’s much more expensive, and that suggests that there’s more content in the aircraft than in the bridge jet.”
“The Air Force acknowledged that some systems had been left off for simplicity,” he added.
L3Harris Technologies, a Florida-based defense contractor, was in charge of retrofitting the Qatari plane, doing so in less than 10 months with around 400 employees. The company stated last month that the jet has an “airborne command post equipped with a new communications system that enables resilient, secure connectivity to respond to global events without disruption.”
The process of retrofitting a plane into Air Force One involves installing sophisticated communications gear and defensive equipment — including infrared countermeasures to confuse or defeat incoming missiles.
Other arrangements, such as creating a press cabin and other components, would have to be in place, allowing the commander in chief to have the same level of security communications as the situation room in the White House.
“Flying Oval Office, really,” Gertler said.
It is widely believed that the old Air Force plane contains hardened wiring to shield it from electromagnetic force if nuclear strikes ensue and advanced missile defense systems. The Air Force can refuel it midair, allowing it to travel long ranges, and the plane contains a medical suite.
When reached for comment on Thursday, an Air Force official told The Hill the service branch does not discuss the plane’s capabilities. The Pentagon referred The Hill to the White House.
The White House defended the plane’s capabilities.
“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,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
“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.”
Trump first unveiled the retrofitted plane last month at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. It is called a “bridge” aircraft, to be in use between the aging Boeing 747-200s that have been used for more than two decades and the new ones that were originally expected in 2024 but won’t be ready until 2028.
Trump also changed the exterior design of the plane from the well-known two-tone lighter blues to dark navy blue, red and gold.
“I think the key to understanding this whole thing is less about what wasn’t done and more what was desired,” Aboulafia said. “I mean, what does the Air Force do, right? I mean, the Air Force scopes out requirements, awards contracts, monitors mission systems integration. What doesn’t it do? Luxury.”
The plane has so far completed two domestic trips, to North and South Dakota last week, and was used by the president to fly from Washington, D.C., to Turkey and then from the U.K. to the U.S. this week.
On the flight out of Turkey, reporters on the plane were told to keep their window blinds closed but weren’t told why. When they asked Trump, he said it was probably due to the “sleazebags over here,” referring to Iran’s leadership. Iran and Turkey share a border.
“Turkey’s in a dangerous neighborhood. Once again, missiles are flying, and once again, there are many hostile actors,” Aboulafia said. “This is serious stuff.”
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