Key facts
- President Donald Trump's Air Force One jet, a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, is undergoing security upgrades.
- Experts suggest the upgrades may focus on non-kinetic systems like jammers and chaff.
- The White House stated the plane is safe but will receive enhancements over approximately one month.
- President Trump will use the older Air Force One aircraft during the upgrade period.
- Concerns about the jet's security readiness arose after a flight switch in Turkey amid Iran tensions.
President Donald Trump's recently acquired Air Force One jet, a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, is set to undergo security upgrades, with experts questioning the adequacy of a one-month timeframe for significant enhancements. The aircraft, which began flying Trump on July 1, was intended as a temporary replacement for the delayed next-generation Air Force One planes.
Concerns over the jet's security readiness intensified after Trump switched to an older Air Force One for a flight from Turkey to the United Kingdom on July 8, amid escalating tensions with Iran. Experts suggest the Qatari jet was likely configured for lower-threat environments and that the current work may be limited to non-kinetic systems such as electronic jammers, infrared dazzlers, and chaff, designed to counter heat-seeking missiles and radar-guided munitions.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated the new Air Force One is safe but will receive additional upgrades over approximately one month, during which the President will use the older aircraft. Douglas Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, noted that infrared-guided missiles pose a growing threat due to their difficulty in detection. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that substantial upgrades are unlikely within a month, potentially limiting work to software updates or additions like flares or chaff.
Democrats have raised questions about the pace of the aircraft's integration into service, arguing that more time should have been allocated for security enhancements. Senator Jeanne Shaheen indicated that Congress needs to review the plane's safety, noting that security issues were known from the outset.