New Air Force One Sent Back For ‘Maxed Out’ Security Upgrades

Soon after my piece on the missing security features on President Trump’s new aircraft serving as the interim Air Force One, ones that made the jet not fully mission capable, Trump announced that the Qatari-gifted luxury jet turned presidential transport is going back to the shop to get “maxed out.”

“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 spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “During that time, the President will fly on the old Air Force One.”

When asked about the newly renovated plane’s missile-defense capabilities, amid reports that the new jet is not as secure as the old one, Trump told reporters after the World Cup final match, “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 didn’t specify what “maxed out” meant but seemed to acknowledge for the first time that the new plane, a Boeing 747-800, lacks at least some of the defensive countermeasures of the previous jet.

This, despite his denying that the change from the new aircraft back to the old aircraft on his flight back from Turkey was not security related. The president, downplaying the idea that security concerns were to blame, said at the time that he was sending the jet ahead of him to allow U.S. service members stationed in England to get a chance to tour it.

The Air Force also previously told The Washington Post that it “coordinated closely with appropriate government entities to ensure all functional mission requirements were strictly met for transporting the President.”

But as I noted, and CBS News reported, the swap was actually at the request of the Secret Service, partly because the new plane wasn’t yet equipped with the security features and systems of the original.

I have long argued that there had not been enough time to integrate the full range of security and defensive measures when refurbishing a jet not built for presidential uses from the ground up. Those missing features likely include anti-missile lasers, as well as flare and chaff dispensers to confuse and divert heat seeking and radar-guided missiles.

They could also include some electronic warfare capabilities and shielding against Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) radiation.

In addition to being critical of Trump accepting a $400 million gift luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, I originally speculated that the plane would likely be limited to domestic travel in the U.S. or other low threat regions. Trump seemed to have jumped the gun asking to use the new jet on an overseas trip that included a stop in Turkey next to Iran. More so when open warfare restarted.

While Trump denied then that security concerns prompted the change, he still suggested that Iran could have tried to attack the plane. Reporters flying with the president were asked to close their window blinds as they departed Ankara.

Trump reportedly privately seethed over news about the plane’s security deficiencies, and his team moved aggressively to investigate who leaked information to reporters. And now he seems to be admitting that the reporting was correct.

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