▶ Watch Video: Why the Secret Service advised Trump to ditch the Qatari-donated Air Force One
Washington — The Secret Service advised that President Trump take the old Air Force One to leave Turkey on Wednesday instead of the new plane donated by Qatar, people briefed on the situation told CBS News, highlighting questions about the security of the president’s new plane.
The White House insists the new Air Force One is fitted with high-level security features. But the Secret Service suggested that the president take the old plane, which is equipped with secure communication systems and sophisticated military defenses, according to people briefed on the situation and who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity to discuss national security concerns. The Secret Service declined to comment.
But the new plane that Qatar donated to the U.S. for presidential flights was hurried into service and is lacking some desired capabilities, U.S. officials told CBS News.
The president traveled in an older version of the presidential plane when he left the NATO summit in Turkey, instead of the new plane that had carried him to Ankara. He then returned to the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted plane when he landed in the United Kingdom later in the day.
Osmancan Gürdoğan, Pool Photo via AP
The decision was made to ensure the president’s ability to manage the war with Iran from the air, as well as in the interest of his security, the people said. The recommendation was not based on a specific or credible threat, but rather as a precautionary measure amid the ongoing war, according to the sources.
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 CBS News. It’s unclear if the Boeing 747-8 Qatari jet has been equipped with those systems. When asked, the Air Force declined to discuss specific capabilities.
The New York Times first reported that the Secret Service asked the president not to use the newer plane to depart from Ankara, warning of security concerns from the escalating war with Iran. The Qataris gifted the $400 million plane last year, and the military spent months retrofitting it to be able to carry the president.
A former U.S. government official who spoke to CBS News expressed concern that there wasn’t enough time or money to outfit the new plane with defensive capabilities to fully meet the requirements to serve as Air Force One.
Mr. Trump said he was making the stop in the U.K. so U.S. troops stationed in Europe could tour the new jet. But the change came after the war with Iran escalated significantly, with renewed attacks by both sides this week.
Iranian missiles can reach Turkey.
“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,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to CBS News. “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.”
The Air Force has previously said the “aircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission. Those requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed.”
The Air Force added: “No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trades on some of the less commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years.”
The president didn’t suggest the plane itself was insecure, although he said more than once that he is a target of Iran.
“Their leaders are gone,” he said during his press conference at the end of the NATO meeting. “Head leaders, they’re gone, and they had another set of leaders, they’re gone, now they have another set of leaders, they may be gone, who knows. And you know what, I may be gone, too. Because I’m their number one target.”
On Air Force One, Mr. Trump talked about the Iranian threats against him.
“If I go, you go,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Perhaps some day you want to change professions.”
Aboard the old Air Force One in Turkey, reporters were told to keep their windows closed — not a typical request on a presidential flight.
Mr. Trump accepted the plane from Qatar over security objections from critics, and over good-government experts’ concerns about accepting such a large gift from a foreign power.
“There will never be one like this. This is very unique,” the president said when the plane was unveiled. “This is considered the world’s most luxurious plane,” the president said. “When it was built, it was built at a level that will probably never be seen again.”