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Published : 09 Jul 2026, 09:08 AM
Donald Trump has flown out of Turkey aboard the older Air Force One after the US Secret Service advised against using the newly acquired Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 following renewed hostilities with Iran, The New York Times reports.
The aircraft swap took place on Wednesday night as a precautionary measure, according to people briefed on the matter who spoke to the American daily.
It has deepened questions over whether the new plane, which Trump had pushed to get into service quickly, was retrofitted with adequate security measures over the past year.
Lawmakers and some officials have questioned if the accelerated timeline allowed the installation of an advanced missile defence system and other protective modifications.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new Air Force One is a “state-of-the-art aircraft fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff”.
Cheung also said the administration uses "every tool at our disposal", including distraction and misdirection, to counter threats against the US president.
However, people familiar with the aircraft's capabilities told the newspaper that the new jet does not yet have all the security features of the older Air Force One.
Trump had flown on the new jet to Turkey on Monday night for a NATO summit.
After his arrival, conflict with Iran flared up again, with the US launching strikes against Tehran while Trump and NATO leaders were roughly 1,000 miles away in Ankara.
Trump denied that the aircraft switch was security-related, the paper reported, instead claiming the new jet left early so it could stop at US military bases, allowing troops to tour what he described as the "magnificent" jet.
He also wrote on social media that he would leave Ankara aboard the older aircraft "for old time's sake" while the new plane flew to RAF Mildenhall in England for US troops to view.
The Secret Service declined to comment, referring to Trump's social media post as the explanation for the change.
The NYT said Trump boarded the old aircraft unusually quickly on departure from Ankara, before travelling journalists could photograph him on the steps as they typically would, and passengers were told to pull down their window shades before takeoff.
The plane landed at Mildenhall late that night, after which Trump switched to the newer jet for the return to Washington.
Trump later told reporters the blind order had likely been issued because they were "on a dangerous plane" given the threat from Iran, according to the paper.
The older aircraft is widely reported to carry a system designed to blind incoming anti-aircraft missiles, along with "chaff" that can be deployed to divert a missile off course.
It remains unclear how many of these capabilities, if any, have been installed on the newer Qatari-donated jet, the NYT said.
Industry and Pentagon officials have said a comprehensive upgrade of this kind could cost up to $1 billion and take as long as two years.
But Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told Congress the modifications would likely cost "probably less than $400 million”.
The Air Force began upgrading the 747 in the US last summer for what officials described at the time as "executive airlift" support, on orders from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, with other details of the upgrade classified.
The plan drew criticism from some lawmakers, who feared Trump would push the Air Force to complete the work too quickly for adequate security measures, including missile defence systems and protection against the electromagnetic effects of a nuclear blast, to be properly installed, as per the daily.
Much of the retrofitting took place at a Texas facility known for secret technology projects.
Andrew Hunter, who oversaw the Air Force One programme during the Joe Biden administration, told the newspaper that communications upgrades could be completed within the available timeframe, but a full Air Force One conversion requires structural modifications that take much longer.
