WASHINGTON: Trump’s new Air Force One security questions grew after the US president used an older jet to leave Türkiye following a NATO summit, US media reported.
Trump had flown to Ankara on the retrofitted Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar. The trip marked the aircraft’s first journey outside the United States. He later said he sent the newer plane to a British airbase so US troops could tour it.
CBS News reported that the Secret Service advised Trump to take the older Air Force One from Türkiye. The report said officials made the recommendation as a precaution during heightened US-Iran tensions.
The New York Times reported that the new aircraft lacked some countermeasures carried by older presidential jets. Those systems include anti-missile defenses, according to the newspaper. Reporters on the older plane were also told to keep window blinds down.
Read: Qatar Air Force One Gift Unveiled by Trump in US
The White House rejected suggestions that the aircraft was unsafe. “The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told AFP.
Cheung said the aircraft had high-level security protocols to protect the president and his staff. He said the United States used “every tool” to address threats against the president.
The US Air Force said in June that it took no risk on security, safety or mission communications. Older Air Force One aircraft are widely reported to carry systems that can jam radar and infrared tracking.
They also reportedly carry chaff and flare countermeasures. It remained unclear which systems were installed on the Qatari-gifted aircraft.
Qatar donated the luxury airliner last year after Trump complained about the ageing Boeing 747 jets used since 1990. The aircraft will serve as a stopgap until two new Boeing presidential aircraft arrive later this decade.
