Topline<\/p>\n
The White House grounded<\/a> President Donald Trump\u2019s new Air Force One jet gifted by Qatar earlier this week amid concerns it lacks proper security capabilities, according to multiple reports, though the White House insists the new plane has \u201chigh-level security protocols.\u201d<\/p>\n Some experts have questioned whether the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One has all the proper security protocols. (Photo by SAUL LOEB \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n Trump departed Turkey earlier this week on the older Air Force One jet because of security concerns, the Wall Street Journal<\/a> and MS NOW<\/a> have reported, with the Journal reporting officials made the switch after the United States received intelligence from Israel that Iran was plotting<\/a> to assassinate Trump.<\/p>\n Steven Cheung, White House communications director, told Forbes the jet gifted to Trump by Qatar last year has been \u201cfitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,\u201d saying there are \u201cmany enemies of America who have their sights on him,\u201d though he did not elaborate on specific costs or upgrades.<\/p>\n Cheung also criticized the initial MS NOW report as \u201ccomplete Fake News\u201d in a post<\/a> on X, attacking Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Carol Leonnig as a \u201cliar\u201d and a \u201ccomplete fraud.\u201d <\/p>\n The Air Force began security upgrades to the jet in September, just 10 months before its first flight in what experts have considered an unusually quick turnaround, saying<\/a> it would modify it for \u201cexecutive airlift\u201d support but that all other details of the renovations were classified.<\/p>\n Troy E. Meink, secretary of the Air Force, told Congress last year the upgrades to the jet would cost \u201cprobably less than $400 million\u201d\u2014but estimates by some aviation experts<\/a> and Democratic lawmakers have placed the total price of renovations around $1 billion.<\/p>\n Aviation experts told NBC News<\/a> some renovations would likely include dismantling and reassembling the jet to ensure there are no listening devices or spyware, as well as installing systems for secure government communications, missile defense, midair refueling and countering electro-magnetic attacks, as well as quarters for White House medical staff and Secret Service\u2014but they said these upgrades could take years.<\/p>\n Andrew P. Hunter, a Biden administration Air Force official, told the New York Times<\/a> some of the more complex security work would involve implementing advanced missile defense systems and hardening the wiring to protect it against a nuclear blast, though it\u2019s unclear to what extent this work was done. <\/p>\n Forbes has reached out to the Pentagon and Air Force for comment. <\/p>\n news peg<\/p>\n Trump took his first flight on the new Air Force One last week on a trip to North Dakota, before taking it on its first international flight to Turkey for a NATO summit. Trump flew part of the way home on the old Air Force One before switching to the Qatari jet, reportedly<\/a> because the Secret Service advised him to use the old jet amid reignited tensions with Iran. Trump claimed he used the older jet \u201cfor old time\u2019s sake,\u201d while also telling reporters in Ankara he is \u201cnumber one on the kill list for Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n What Have Aviation Experts Said About The Security Renovations?<\/p>\n Some experts have voiced concerns the administration did not allocate enough time to complete all security renovations, given the administration plans to donate the plane to Trump\u2019s library foundation in 2029. Richard Aboulafia, a military aviation consultant, told NBC News<\/a> some of the expected renovations, including equipping the plane with midair refueling capabilities, would be \u201cenormously time-consuming\u201d and could take until the 2030s. Hunter told the Times this week the administration likely had enough time to \u201caccommodate communications upgrades,\u201d but \u201cnot anything that would require significant structural work,\u201d saying a proper retrofit would take at least more than one year of work. Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force under the Biden administration, questioned whether the plane has \u201cprotective measures that Air Force Ones have against different types of threats\u201d in an interview with MS NOW<\/a> last week, noting the unusually quick turnaround for the plane\u2019s retrofitting. <\/p>\n chief critics<\/p>\n Some Democratic lawmakers have heaped criticism on the Trump administration over the jet, taking aim at its cost and potential burden on taxpayers. In a letter<\/a> to Meink in August, a cohort of Democratic senators including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused the administration of making taxpayers fund $1 billion in security renovations, while also accusing Qatar of \u201ctrying to curry favor with the administration.\u201d The lawmakers said it is \u201cconcerning\u201d that the jet would only be used for a few years after undergoing expensive renovations, as the Trump administration has said the plane would be donated<\/a> to Trump\u2019s presidential library after his term ends. The lawmakers also wrote they were concerned by a New York Times report that said nearly $1 billion in funds from Sentinel, a modernization program for the country\u2019s nuclear capabilities, would be rerouted to the Qatari jet, voicing concerns over \u201cmismanagement.\u201d Democrats also stepped up criticism of the jet this week after Trump flew on it. The press account for Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., quoted a post from Cheung that included pictures of the jet\u2019s interior, writing<\/a>, \u201cAir Fraud One.\u201d Warren, in a post earlier this week, wrote: \u201cInstead of signing the bipartisan bill to make housing more affordable, Donald Trump is taking a joy ride in his $400 million taxpayer-renovated Qatari jet.\u201d<\/p>\n further reading<\/p>\n Trump Switches Back To Qatari Plane After Leaving Turkey On Old Air Force One<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n