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Trump flies partway home from Turkey in an old Air Force One
NPR • • general
Key Points:
- President Trump flew partway home from the NATO summit on an older Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted jet, citing nostalgia and to allow military personnel at RAF Mildenhall to tour the new aircraft.
- The new retrofitted plane, costing $400 million, lacks some missile detection and countermeasure systems found on older jets, raising security concerns amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions.
- Trump denied that security threats from Iran influenced the plane swap, although the older plane's transponder was temporarily disabled during the flight, a security measure typically used in high-risk zones.
- The U.S. Air Force stated the new aircraft has high-level security protocols but acknowledged some complex modifications were omitted to expedite its service entry as a "bridge" aircraft.
- The permanent new Air Force One jets, equipped with full security features, are delayed and expected to be delivered by 2028.
