Get you up to speed: Trump says new Air Force One will be “maxed out” with security capabilities
President Trump announced that the new Air Force One, gifted by Qatar, will undergo defensive upgrades due to concerns over its security capabilities. The aircraft will be sent for modifications within a month, as it currently lacks certain security features present in the older model.
The new Air Force One, donated by Qatar, is set to undergo defensive upgrades, which is expected to take approximately a month. The plane, which was first flown by President Trump on July 1, has not yet been equipped with all the security features present on the older aircraft.
President Trump announced that the new Air Force One, donated by Qatar, will undergo upgrades to enhance its security capabilities following concerns raised by the U.S. Secret Service. The president confirmed that the upgrades will take approximately one month, acknowledging the new plane lacks some of the defensive features present in the older model.
What remains unclear — It is not specified what specific security upgrades will be made to the new Air Force One.
Trump announces new Air Force One to receive upgraded security features
President Trump said Sunday that his new Air Force One, a luxury jet donated by Qatar, will be sent off for defensive upgrades amid speculation about its security capabilities.
“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,” Mr. Trump told reporters after attending Sunday’s World Cup final match in New Jersey. “They’re going to be sending it, and they’ll have it be maxed out. It’ll take about a month.”
Mr. Trump has flown on the new plane a handful of times since its debut in June. But after he flew in the new Air Force One to Turkey earlier this month, Mr. Trump was in the old one for part of the journey back.
The president said at the time that he was sending the new luxury jet ahead of him to allow U.S. service members stationed in England to get a chance to tour it. But sources told WTX US News earlier this month that the swap was actually at the request of the U.S. Secret Service, partly because the new plane wasn’t yet equipped with the security features and systems of the original.
The older planes that serve as Air Force One have laser technology to blind an incoming missile, a system that could misdirect incoming munitions and other diversion technologies, sources familiar with the matter told WTX US News at the time.
Mr. Trump didn’t specify what would be “maxed out” on the plane, but seemed to acknowledge for the first time that the new plane lacks at least some of the capacities of the previous one.
Qatar’s royal family gifted the jet to Mr. Trump last year, and he has faced criticism from lawmakers who raised both security and ethical concerns about accepting the plane. The new plane underwent approximately 10 months of work before Mr. Trump flew it for the first time on July 1.