President Donald Trump swapped out his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One for his flight from the NATO summit to the United Kingdom over concerns that the gifted aircraft lacks the secure communications systems and military defenses needed to safely manage a rapidly escalating conflict with Iran, according to two former national security officials familiar with the matter.
Instead, Trump flew from Ankara to a U.S. base in the United Kingdom in his original Air Force One. It was during that flight that Trump authorized additional strikes against Iran, following through on a threat he had made earlier that day to end the on-again, off-again ceasefire.
Trump’s earlier choice to use the gifted Qatari jet as a primary presidential aircraft has been controversial because the gifted plane lacks key military defenses of the original Air Force One, including the ability to refuel mid-air and missile-defense systems, according to a law enforcement official briefed on its capabilities.
The original Air Force One — a Boeing VC-25A from the early 1990s — is a unique military plane outfitted with these capabilities.
The main concern Wednesday was the president’s need to use the command-and-control functions of the original Air Force One, according to two other former security officials. Those systems turn the plane into a “flying situation room,” allowing the president to receive classified intelligence briefings, communicate securely and give orders to military officers around the world.
The Qatari Boeing VC-25B — originally manufactured as a passenger jet in 2012 — does not have some of the original Air Force One’s equipment, and some of the jet’s capabilities have not been fully tested, the sources added.
“This plane was built for aesthetics, not mission,” one former national security official said. “We know about its paint, its leather seats. But we don’t know its capabilities.”
A U.S. Air Force spokesperson declined to state why Trump shifted from the Qatari plane to the original Air Force One jet for his flight to the U.K., but said there was no concern about the jet’s abilities.
“The Air Force is confident the VC-25B Bridge Aircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission,” the spokesperson said.
Asked during his closing press conference in Ankara on Wednesday whether the plane switch had to do with security concerns, Trump acknowledged he is “No. 1 on the kill list for Iran.” He also said the change was to allow the new plane to be seen by U.S. troops at a U.K. military base.
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Carol Leonnig is a senior investigative reporter with MS NOW.
Priya Sridhar is the Pentagon correspondent for MS NOW.
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for MS NOW.
