New Air Force One Lacks Defensive Countermeasures of Previous Model, Officials Say

The New York Times ^ | July 9, 2026, 8:47 p.m. ET | Tyler PagerEric LiptonAdam GoldmanEric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The new Air Force One, which President Trump flew on earlier this week to Turkey, lacks the same defensive countermeasures that were security features of the old model, including its advanced antimissile capabilities, according to multiple officials who have been briefed on how the jet was retrofitted.

Experts say the absence of those capabilities on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which was donated by Qatar, creates potential risk in using the jet abroad, a dynamic underscored by the abrupt decision on Wednesday for Mr. Trump to leave Turkey on the old Air Force One at the urging of the Secret Service.

The episode is intensifying the focus on Mr. Trump’s demands to rapidly retrofit the donated 747 to replace an aging fleet that had served as the official presidential planes.

Lawmakers have called on the administration to disclose whether the overhaul of the Qatari plane, which the Air Force oversaw in the course of the last year, provided sufficient security upgrades. The safety of the aircraft is critical not only for the president, but also for the large entourage of White House staff, Secret Service officials, journalists and guests who fly aboard.

Mr. Trump pushed for the new plane to be put into use as quickly as possible and frequently complained that the old presidential aircraft was not impressive enough to take on international trips.

On Thursday, the White House did not address specific questions about the new plane’s capabilities, but defended its safety.

“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,” Steven Cheung, the communications director, said in a...

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TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: adamgoldman; airforceone; arrestleakers; arrestnyttraitors; assassinationattempt; ericlipton; ericschmitt; fakenews; julianebarnes; newyorkslimes; notnews; nyt; nytsedition; tryanotherforum; tylerpager

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Five bylines = Five times the propaganda.

[Responsibility2nd]

New Air Force One Lacks Defensive Countermeasures of Previous Model, Officials Say

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Could this be the reason why Trump flew back from Turkey on the OLD Air Force One?

[montag813]

If this is even 1/10th true, I am speechless.

[GrootheWanderer]

Yes. I’m not sure how the Secret Service agreed the let him fly the new one in the first place.

[clintonh8r]

So I guess it’ll be doing just the Andrews——-> DJT run.

[GenXPolymath]

It’s exactly the reason they used the VC25-A

All you need to do is look at the tail of the new jet vs the two existing ones you can clearly see the difference and the lack of installed systems. It’s night and day.

They should use the new jet in low risk domestic use to keep flight hours on the older hardened airframe’s to a minimum thus extending their lifespans until the real VC frames come from Boeing. The gifted jet was , is and always will be a bridge to get to the new Boeing jets specificity built as VC airframes.

[Señor Presidente]

Meanwhile, Boeing’s delivery of the new 747s seems to drag on with no end in sight (wasn’t this hammered out in 2017???).

[Responsibility2nd]

This is the "reason" why Trump flew back on the old AF1

 

Air Force One swap was ‘distraction and misdirection’ to keep Trump safe: White House
NY Post ^ | July 9, 2026 | Caitlin Doornbos

Posted on 7/9/2026, 2:19:48 PM by McGruff

The White House on Thursday claimed President Trump’s switch from the new Qatari-donated Air Force One to the original presidential plane on his flight home from Turkey Wednesday was a strategic “distraction” to keep the commander-in-chief safe.

Denying that any physical security factors led to the swap out, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new jet “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.”

“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,” Cheung said in a statement.

...reporters on board the Qatari — which took a detour to the United Kingdom for troops to tour — were asked to close their window blinds for the entire flight, suggesting there was some attempt to obscure just who, exactly, was on board.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...

[doc maverick]

“Could this be the reason why Trump flew back from Turkey on the OLD Air Force One?”
That’s what I was surmising……..
The Psychmullah regime has hits out on Trump, Vance, Hegseth, Rubio and Trump sons.
If the death cult had a nuke, they’d use it.
They would use a dirty nuke too and probably already have one in the US.
We are going to have to start shooting down drones flying over the US and ban their use by civilians for now anyway.

[frank ballenger]

Defense maneuvers....
Pilot George Kennedy makes adjustments to avoid drone missile.// Concorde: Airport ‘79.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHzxdrFC72c

[John S Mosby]

What officials would have clearence to say this-— Harris3G did the total rebuild on the entire plane and it has classified state of the art systems installed which surpass the 35 year old backup.

The people commenting on it don’t know a damned thing— the entire story is made up. Trump would not have been allowed to fly to Mt. Rushmore if it didn’t have complete rebuild and upgrade— and certainly NOT to fly to Ankara for NATO. The olde AF1 747 followed the new plane to Ankara. The new livery of the new AF 1 was spewed all over foreign press with color scheme— easily ID’d. So the olde one served as a decoy, and also frankly could have played a role in “shuffle the President”. Not for sure if he did fly back on 35 year old one. The entourage with the AF 1 includes 2 C17s for the Beast and Secret service vehicles, and support tankers. The new plane is faster with newer engines. This was some pretty smart tradecraft which the stupid press is buying into.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

So, why don’t they just install those “Defensive Counter Measures” on the new plane?

[Bob Wills is still the king]

“Meanwhile, Boeing’s delivery of the new 747s seems to drag on with no end in sight (wasn’t this hammered out in 2017???).”
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I’m told by a Boeing VP that the delays are due to change orders and upgrades unconsidered during the long design and cost phase. Change orders are always expensive.

[Bob Wills is still the king]

“We are going to have to start shooting down drones flying over the US and ban their use by civilians for now anyway.”
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There are far too many businesses using civilian drones for expensive work in GIS, etc. Law enforcement agencies have found them far better than helicopters for covert surveillance and traffic monitoring.

[Carry_Okie]

We are going to have to start shooting down drones flying over the US and ban their use by civilians for now anyway.

Please. Somehow, I think a 250gm DJI drone would be incapable of carrying a nuke.

[avital2]

if true, why release info, NYT?

[mythenjoseph]

Beacause it’s NOW equipped with “Freekin’ LASERS !”

[Dan Zachary]

I call BS and TDS. If the plane were unsafe, there is no way the president would have been allowed to fly on it. We would never hear about safety issues which would give potential assassins information that would assist them.

This is nothing more than a NYT hit piece. Made up propaganda designed to make President Trump look bad.

[central_va]

Please act on that and stop posting altogether?