President Donald Trump has said that the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One is being taken out of commission and “maxed out” with upgrades after the Secret Service reportedly advised him not to use the jet on a recent international trip as a security precaution.
“It has a lot of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re going to send it to have it be maxed out,” Trump told reporters while speaking in front of the jet at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday. He did not specify what upgrades will be made to the aircraft.
“The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to TIME. “During that time, the President will fly on the old Air Force One.”
Trump’s comments come after The New York Times reported earlier this month that he made part of the trip back to the U.S. from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Turkey on the old Air Force One rather than the new one as a security measure linked to resumed hostilities with Iran. Sources briefed on the matter told the outlet that the decision was made under the guidance of the Secret Service.
After departing Turkey on the old plane, Trump switched back onto the new Air Force One during a previously unscheduled stop at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a military base in England, as he returned to the U.S.
“We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base’s request,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”
Trump denied that the switch in planes was motivated by security concerns while speaking to reporters, saying that it was made so that the new jet could be taken to U.S. military bases in Europe and shown to the troops there.
When pressed, though, he also said that members of the media aboard were on a “dangerous flight because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with” in an apparent reference to Iran, with which the U.S. has been trading tit-for-tat strikes after a cease-fire crumbled.
Following the Times’ report about the Air Force One security concerns, the Justice Department issued subpoenas to several journalists at the outlet, which denounced the move and called it a “brazen act.”
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said the paper’s top newsroom lawyer, David McCraw, in a statement.
For now, CNN reported that Trump will continue to use the Qatar-gifted aircraft to fly domestically and potentially for some international trips before the upgrades begin.
Ethics and security concerns have swirled around Trump’s acquisition of the jet since he first announced the gift last year. Here’s what to know about why the new Air Force One is controversial, and why its security may be in question.
A controversial gift
The new Air Force One, a Boeing 747-800 worth an estimated $400 million, was gifted to the U.S. by Qatar in an unusual move that immediately sparked concerns about presidential ethics and national security—even from some members of Trump’s own party.
The jet, which the Trump Administration formally accepted last May, is one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the U.S. government. Trump has said that the plane will be used as the new Air Force One for the duration of his presidency, after which it will be transferred to his future presidential library.
The President embraced the gift, calling it a “great gesture.”
“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump said days before the Pentagon announced its acceptance of the jet. “I mean, I could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani similarly brushed off the controversy surrounding the gift at the time, calling it a “very simple government-to-government dealing.”
Legal experts previously told TIME, however, that the gift was far simple. The Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause restricts federal officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign states without Congress’ approval.
Trump defended the plan to accept the gift by saying that it was not being given to him personally, but rather to the government.
“The Boeing 747 is being given to the United States Air Force/Department of Defense, NOT TO ME! It is a gift from a Nation, Qatar, that we have successfully defended for many years,” Trump said. But watchdogs and former ethics officials said to TIME that the President could still benefit from the jet.
National security experts also warned that accepting an aircraft from another country’s government could pose risks and that the process of retrofitting and upgrading the jet to serve as Air Force One could cost more than $1 billion. Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink, meanwhile, estimated in testimony before Congress that the price tag would amount to “probably less than $400 million.”
“The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said at the time. “The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States.”
Questions raised about the jet’s security capabilities—and what upgrades may entail
The jet has already undergone modifications since the Trump Administration accepted it. The Air Force said in September that it began upgrading the aircraft over the summer, stating that it was making renovations for “executive airlift” support but that other details were classified.
Little information has since been released about what the modifications entailed, though L3Harris Technologies, the contractor used by the Air Force to upgrade the plane, said in a June press release that it had equipped the aircraft with an an “airborne command post … that enables resilient, secure connectivity to respond to global events without disruption.”
Trump took his first flight on the new Air Force One earlier this month following those earlier upgrades, before switching to the old plane when departing the NATO summit days later.
The Times and The Associated Press have reported the new aircraft lacks some of the anti-missile systems the previous presidential jets possessed. The Wall Street Journal and CBS News have also reported that it does not have certain capabilities those older planes did.
Brian Gant, a former Secret Service agent and professor at Maryville University, tells TIME that “Air Force One essentially is a mobile command center,” describing it as a “communication suite” connecting the President to “people around the world via satellite teleconference.”
The jet gifted by Qatar, he says, may have more limited communications and defensive capabilities than older Air Force Ones have had.
He suggests that key defensive features, such as flares or other “anti-missile countermeasures” that could disrupt satellite-guided or “heat-seeking” missiles, could be added to the jet in the upgrade process.
The AP reported that the Qatari jet additionally lacks the capability to refuel mid-air.
Grant says this feature is crucial in limiting time on the ground while traveling through “mission critical areas of the world” where take off and landing are the “two most dangerous times of any aircraft.”
The post What to Know About the Controversy and Security Questions Surrounding Trump’s Qatari-Gifted Air Force One appeared first on TIME.
