When President Donald Trump announced he would be leaving the NATO summit in Turkey aboard the old Air Force One, rather than the newer Qatari airliner, he claimed it was so that American service personnel could tour his luxurious new ride.But his post raised more questions than answers.Could the new $400 million plane, his “palace on wings”, have developed a fault during its inaugural international trip? Or was there something more sinister? Was the hurriedly outfitted 747 more vulnerable to threats from Iran, which shares a border with Turkey, and which Trump had just threatened to strike again?
Trump himself wasn’t telling.In a Truth Social post, he announced: “To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft — Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first.”He would fly to the U.K. on the backup plane “for old time’s sake.”Trump had proudly shown off his new transport during two domestic trips last week. His top aides shared a series of posts saying farewell to the two VC-25As (modified 747-200s) that had been in service since 1990.President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One as he arrives for the NATO summit on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey. (Osmancan Gürdo?an, Pool Photo via AP)
