Trump Swaps to Old Air Force One Mid-Flight From Turkey
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- Trump switched from the $400 million Qatari-gifted jet to a legacy baby blue Air Force One for the Turkey-to-UK leg, telling reporters he did it "for old time's sake"
- The new Air Force One lacks some missile detection and countermeasure systems present on the 30+ year-old jets, and the Air Force conceded "several highly complex engineering modifications" were excluded from the bridge aircraft
- The older plane's transponder was disabled early in the Turkey-to-UK flight — a security measure typically used for war-zone travel — while other leaders' flights from the summit, including Germany's and the UK's, remained trackable
- Trump dismissed Iran-related threats as a factor, saying "I have a threat all time. I'm No. 1 on their list," while reporters aboard said they were asked to keep window blinds closed for the "sleazebags," an apparent Iran reference
- The new jet flew separately to RAF Mildenhall, where Trump reboarded it to greet troops before it continued to Joint Base Andrews, a stop Trump said caused "virtually no deviation of flightpath"
- Iran possesses drones and Shahab ballistic missiles capable of reaching Turkey roughly 800 miles away, but CSIS assessed it lacks weapons able to effectively strike England at 2,500 miles
- The permanent Air Force One replacements — a new pair of Boeing jets — are delayed to 2028, leaving the Qatari bridge aircraft as the interim option
Why it matters: The $400 million Qatari retrofit was meant to deliver a modern, secure presidential aircraft, but the mid-trip swap shows its missing countermeasures leave Trump relying on 30+ year-old VC-25As during active conflict with Iran. With the permanent replacement jets now not expected until 2028, that gap stretches across years of escalating tension.
