President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the new Qatar-donated Air Force One will be taken out of service for security and capability upgrades.
The decision highlights potential gaps in the security infrastructure of the new aircraft, which is intended to serve as the primary transport for the U.S. president. Relying on older models until the new plane is fully outfitted suggests the current configuration does not meet the stringent requirements for presidential protection.
Trump said the aircraft has a lot of capability, but added that in about a month [3], the plane will be sent to be "maxed out" [0]. This move comes just weeks [4] after the plane's first official flight [4].
The aircraft, which was donated by Qatar with a value of $400 million [0], has already seen significant investment. The Air Force has spent more than $300 million [1] retrofitting the plane to meet U.S. standards.
Despite these investments, the president said the plane is not as thoroughly outfitted as previous Air Force One models [2]. The upcoming upgrades are intended to bridge that gap in security, and operational capability [2].
Trump said he will continue to use the older Air Force One models while the new aircraft undergoes these modifications [2]. The timeline for the return of the upgraded plane was not specified, though the process is expected to begin shortly.
“The new Air Force One "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,"”
The decision to pull the aircraft from service so soon after its debut suggests that the initial retrofitting of the Qatar-donated plane was insufficient for the unique security needs of the U.S. presidency. By returning to older, established models, the administration is prioritizing proven security protocols over the prestige of a new aircraft, while acknowledging that a $400 million gift still requires hundreds of millions more in specialized upgrades to be fully operational.
