Trump's Qatari Air Force One Lacks Older Jet's Missile Defenses

President Donald Trump's new Air Force One, a retrofitted Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar's royal family, is under scrutiny after he switched back to an older jet for part of a trip to Europe. The New York Times reported Friday that the plane lacks the same anti-missile defenses and countermeasures that protect the older aircraft, which have been in service since 1990.

Trump denied any security concern. After returning to the new plane for the flight from the UK to Washington, he referred to alleged Iranian assassination attempts. "You're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with," he said.

The White House defended the plane. "The new Air Force One 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," Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement Friday. He added that the administration uses "every tool at our disposal" to address threats, including "distraction and misdirection" – an apparent reference to the plane swap.

While U.S. officials never disclose details, the older Air Force One jets are widely reported to carry sophisticated countermeasures. They can jam enemy radar and infrared tracking systems. They also have dispensers for chaff – metal shavings that distract radar-guided missiles – and flares that blind heat-seeking missiles.

It is unclear which, if any, of those measures are on the Qatari plane. The aircraft lacks some of the specialized external equipment fairings visible on the older jets, according to reports.

The U.S. Air Force acknowledged in a June statement that it made compromises to get the Qatari jet into service quickly for Trump. "No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, the collective team made trades on some of the less commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years," the Air Force said.

Senate Democrats sent a letter the day Trump arrived in Turkey asking the Air Force to explain "real national security concerns" about the Qatari plane.

Retired Brigadier General John Teichert, former U.S. Air Force assistant deputy under secretary, told Fox News: "No matter what you do to retrofit a Qatari jet, it's never going to be built from scratch to have the defensive capabilities like a tailor-made Air Force One."

The Qatari jet is a stopgap until two new Boeing Air Force Ones are delivered later this decade, following a series of delays. After that, it is due to be donated to Trump's planned presidential library.

Qatar's donation of a jet worth hundreds of millions of dollars has also raised ethical questions about whether a U.S. president should receive or use such a gift from a foreign power.

For Boeing, the manufacturer of the Air Force One aircraft, the episode adds another layer of complexity to a program already plagued by delays and cost overruns. The two new 747-8s originally slated for delivery in 2024 are now expected no earlier than 2027, a timeline that has frustrated the White House and drawn scrutiny from lawmakers. The stopgap Qatari jet, while solving an immediate travel need, does nothing to address the underlying production bottlenecks at Boeing's Everett plant, where the Air Force One conversion work has been a persistent source of tension between the company and the Pentagon.

The New York Times, which broke the story on the security gap, has seen its reporting on the plane's deficiencies amplify the political pressure on the administration. The paper's coverage has been cited by Democratic senators in their letter to the Air Force, and it has become a talking point for critics who question the propriety of accepting a luxury aircraft from a foreign government. The Times' stock page is NYT stock page.

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