President Donald Trump says that a luxury jet gifted by the Qatari government to be used as Air Force One will be “maxed out” following reports that it lacked necessary security measures.
The $400 million jet was donated last year and was used by the president to jet to Turkey for a NATO summit earlier in July. However, Trump flew part of the way back to the U.S. aboard the older model of Air Force One, with The New York Times later reporting that the president took the older model due to “security concerns.”
After returning to Washington, D.C., from New Jersey aboard the Qatari jet on Sunday, Trump was asked why he was still using the plane if it did not have antimissile defense systems on board.
“Well, it has…it has a lot, and you know 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,” Trump told reporters. “So they’re going to be sending it, and they’ll have it be maxed out.”
According to him, that process will take “about a month.”
However, the president did not elaborate on what new capabilities will be added to the jet.
Trump’s newest plane is meant to serve as a bridge between the older Air Force One models and the new ones that won’t be ready until 2028. Trump created backlash when he announced plans for the transition jet and it would be a $400 million gift from Qatar. The president took his first flight on the newest plane just weeks ago.
When Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey, he flew to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom on the older model of Air Force One. From there, he jetted back to the U.S. aboard the Qatari-gifted aircraft.
The president claimed that he flew to the U.K. aboard the older vessel for “old times’ sake.”
Sources told The New York Times, though, that Trump took the older model as a security precaution related to the recommencement of hostilities between Iran and the United States. The sources also noted that the decision did not come in the wake of a specific threat.
In a second article, the publication reported that sources warned that the Qatari plane lacked the advanced antimissile capabilities of the older models.
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, told the newspaper that the Qatari jet was “state-of-the-art” and had been “fitted with high-level security protocols.”
The Times said that the FBI wanted to speak to people who flew aboard the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 to Turkey, including members of the Secret Service, about the security concern information. Trump administration officials told the newspaper that the probe was intended to identify anyone who had shared information about the alleged security concerns.
In 2025, Trump said he would not “get” the Qatari-gifted plane upon leaving office.
“It’ll go to my library,” he said.
His son, Eric Trump, suggested to The Palm Beach Post that one of the two older Air Force One planes will be placed at the base of Trump’s presidential library.
The jet will be the one incorporated into the library, according to Eric Trump, who noted that it was commissioned by former President Reagan and had flown around 6.5 million miles with a president on board over 30 years.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
