The newest Air Force One is flying, but is it ready to deal with all the threats a president faces?
Aviation experts say the rushed conversion may have left out critical defensive, communications and refueling systems needed for high-threat missions.
- When President Donald Trump departed Turkey this week, he boarded a 35-year-old Boeing 747, bypassing the newly converted Qatari-donated jet parked nearby. The aircraft had been introduced with fanfare just days earlier.
- Trump mandated the aircraft be ready by July 4, resulting in a compressed, year-long conversion. Former Air Force secretary Frank Kendall described it as a "schedule driven modification" that forced critical systems to be omitted.
- Aerospace expert Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory warned the "inside" is "undoubtedly missing" from the aircraft, citing concerns over missing nuclear defenses. Observers noted the plane appears to lack external modifications required for directional infrared missile defense.
- While the White House maintains the conversion meets essential security standards, Kendall estimates a full-up conversion would have required three to four years of work. A "flying White House" requires extensive modifications for communications, medical care, and critical security.
- Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East heighten operational risks for the aircraft, while Trump's plan to send the plane to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library remains controversial. Several Republican senators have expressed misgivings about potential security and legal risks.
27 Articles
27 Articles
By giving up suddenly, this week, using his new aircraft to leave the NATO summit in Turkey, the American head of state revived fears about the safety of this aircraft.
Washington Top News
KEZI 9 NewsWhen US President Donald Trump departed Turkey this week, he boarded a modified 35-year-old Boeing 747, not the plane…
By Pete Muntean and Alexandra Skores, CNN When the President of the United States, Donald Trump, left Turkey this week, he boarded a 35-year-old modified Boeing 747, not the newly adapted aircraft that remained parked on the other side of the track and that had been presented with high deployment just a few days earlier. The decision intensified the scrutiny of the aircraft donated by Qatar, whose conversion was carried out in an unusually short…
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayScare Force One? Trump’s prized Qatar jet hits security turbulence
WASHINGTON, July 11 — US President Donald Trump faces questions about the security of his new Air Force One plane gifted by Qatar, after he took an older jet home from a Nato summit this week.The billionaire president has barely been able to contain his excitement over the retrofitted Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which took him to Ankara on its maiden trip outside the United States.But then Trump abruptly announced in Turkey that he was sending the lu…
The new Air Force One used by U.S. President Donald Trump during his trip to Turkey this week does not have several of the defensive capabilities that distinguished the former presidential aircraft, including advanced missile protection systems, reported The New York Times, citing officials familiar with the aircraft’s modernization process. The lack of such systems in the Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar has aroused concern among experts and forme…
The newest Air Force One is flying, but is it ready to deal with all the threats a president faces?
When President Donald Trump departed Turkey this week, he boarded a 35-year-old modified Boeing 747, not the newly converted plane parked across the tarmac that had been introduced with much fanfare just days earlier.
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