Trump switches Air Force One planes after Turkey summit

President Donald Trump made an unexpected aircraft switch on his way home from a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday, flying to England aboard an older Air Force One instead of the newly retrofitted, Qatari-gifted jet he had used to arrive at the meeting.

The change came as the United States and Iran were again trading strikes, prompting questions about whether security concerns drove the decision. Trump offered little detail, saying the older plane was being used “for old time’s sake” while the new aircraft was sent ahead to Royal Air Force Mildenhall so U.S. service members could see it.

Trump later boarded the new plane at Mildenhall for the flight to Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after greeting troops at the base.

“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 social media Wednesday evening. “They were very excited.” He said the stop was “on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”

Earlier, Trump said the “brand new, and truly spectacular” aircraft was being sent to Mildenhall “to honor our brave men and women of the Military” and to let them tour the plane. He said he would take the “former Air Force One” from Turkey to Mildenhall, calling it “a short trip that is totally worth doing.”

The new Boeing 747-800, a gift from Qatar that the United States spent $400 million retrofitting, had carried Trump to Turkey on its first international trip. The aircraft has drawn scrutiny because images since its unveiling show it lacks some missile detection and countermeasure systems found on older presidential jets.

Asked at a news conference whether security concerns involving Iran were behind the switch, Trump did not directly answer. “I’m No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” he said. He also told reporters, “They want to take out the US leader, me, I’m on every list.”

During the flight, Trump denied to reporters traveling with him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in using two planes. Asked whether he knew of any credible Iranian threat against Air Force One, he said, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”

Reporters aboard the older plane said they were asked to keep their window blinds closed during the flight from Turkey to the United Kingdom. Asked why, Trump said it was probably because of “the sleazebags over here,” an apparent reference to Iran, and said he had not been asked to close the blinds in his compartment.

The older Boeing VC-25A’s transponder was not visible to consumer flight trackers early in the flight after takeoff, suggesting it had been temporarily disabled, NPR reported. Other world leaders’ aircraft, including those from Germany and the United Kingdom, departed with trackable transponders.

The itinerary change followed U.S. military strikes on Iran. NPR reported that the U.S. military conducted large strikes in Iran in retaliation for attacks on merchant shipping in the region, with another series of strikes Wednesday. The Guardian reported that the U.S. launched strikes on more than 80 Iranian targets, according to U.S. Central Command, and imposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales.

White House spokesman Steven Cheung said the new aircraft is secure. “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,” he said. “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats.”

The Air Force has said the fast conversion of the Qatari aircraft was done “without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,” while acknowledging that “several highly complex engineering modifications” planned for the final Air Force One aircraft were excluded from the interim jet. The permanent replacement aircraft are expected in 2028.