Secret Service Requested Plane Switch During Iran Escalation

President Trump flew home from the NATO summit in Ankara on two different planes on July 8. He left Turkey on an old Boeing VC-25A, the same baby-blue jet that has ferried presidents since 1990. The new Qatari-gifted jet flew ahead to Britain, where Trump switched back for the final leg to Washington. Trump attributed the choice to sentiment. "For old time's sake, we'll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey," he posted on Truth Social.

The New York Times reported the switch came at the request of the Secret Service as a security precaution. CBS News reported the decision was also meant to preserve Trump's ability to manage the war with Iran from the air. Trump denied to reporters that security concerns played a role.

The timing places the decision inside an active military escalation. Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran "over" the same day he left the summit, following an exchange of strikes between the U.S. and Iran. The United States launched a new round of strikes on Iran that day, after Trump warned the country would be hit "very hard" again. During the summit, Trump told reporters he considers himself Iran's "number one target."

Reporting on the Qatari jet's actual capabilities is not unanimous. The New York Times, citing people briefed on the plane, reported it lacks some features present on the older Air Force One. CNN reported a split among its sources, with two officials saying the new plane lacked the same safety capabilities as the old one, while a third said it carries many of the same features. Former Pentagon officials told multiple outlets that heat-seeking-missile countermeasures visible beneath the wings and tail of older Air Force One jets are not visible in photographs of the Qatari plane.

Six presidents before Trump climbed onto the same two Air Force One jets and treated them as tools of state. A man who once owned an airline built on a fleet of Boeing 727s got the keys next, and the leather seats on the government's flying bunker suddenly don't feel posh enough.

Air Force One's problems start with its history.

The current Air Force One entered service in 1990, near the tail end of the Cold War, under a president who understood exactly what the aircraft was for. It carries the designation VC-25A, a modified Boeing 747-200B built to survive a nuclear blast, and its livery was a collaboration between designer Raymond Loewy and John F. Kennedy, a partnership that produced the most recognizable paint scheme in aviation history without anyone involved needing it to also flatter them personally. For thirty-five years, that plane carried presidents through hijacking scares, wars, and September 11 without a single occupant demanding a redesign. It was never meant to be beautiful. It was meant to work.

The White House disputes the idea that the jet is under-equipped. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the aircraft is "a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff." The Air Force issued its own statement, saying the plane "is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission," and that "no risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications." The statement characterized the omissions as trades made on "less commonly used mission sets."

The original Air Force One aircraft were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War. They were hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and equipped with anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room. They also carry air-to-air refueling capability, though no president has used it in flight.

Frank Kendall, a former Air Force secretary, said time did not permit all the normal Air Force One modifications on the Qatari jet, leaving some mix of security, communications, and support missing. He said the Iran situation raises the stakes on that gap and that he is surprised to see the plane used outside the United States. Andrew P. Hunter, a former Air Force assistant secretary, said a year was not enough time to properly retrofit a 747 for the presidential mission.

The Air Force says it spent less than $400 million retrofitting the jet. Some aviation experts and Democratic lawmakers put the total closer to $1 billion. The aircraft is meant to serve as a temporary "bridge" plane while Boeing finishes two custom-built replacements, scheduled for delivery in 2028 after repeated delays.

A dozen lawmakers sent a letter to the White House demanding to know whether the plane received the necessary security upgrades before entering service. Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who led the letter, wrote that Trump's public statements boasting about the jet's luxury make clear that the decision-making process prioritized comfort over security. Senator Elizabeth Warren separately criticized the jet's cost on social media, calling it "Air Fraud One."

Every president since George H.W. Bush flew the same VC-25A aircraft without seeking a replacement or accepting a gifted alternative. Trump broke from that pattern. He has repeatedly criticized the jet's age, saying in June that "age was finally catching up to it no matter what we did." During his first term, he negotiated the current $3.9 billion contract for two Boeing replacement jets in 2018, a deal the White House said saved $1.4 billion over the prior agreement. That replacement program fell years behind schedule.

In February 2025, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was "not happy with Boeing" over the delays and said the administration "may do something else." That same month, he toured a Boeing 747-8 formerly owned by Qatar's royal family, a visit the White House said was meant to highlight Boeing's "failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised." Qatar's royal family donated the plane last year, after Trump criticized the condition of the two aging jets that have served as the presidential fleet. Trump has said it will eventually go to his presidential library in Miami, though the legal authority to make that determination remains in question.

The Qatari jet and the older fleet will continue to share the job of moving the president until Boeing's replacements arrive, with the choice of aircraft depending on where he is going and what is happening when he leaves.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

Copyright © 2026 Maria Santos Salinas for FRONTeras.

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