Following the NATO Summit in Türkiye, U.S. President Donald Trump used one of the older Air Force One aircraft for the first leg of his journey back to the United States instead of the new presidential aircraft gifted by Qatar, which had brought him to Ankara.
The older presidential aircraft carrying Trump landed at Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. After meeting U.S. military personnel stationed at the base, Trump transferred to the new Air Force One aircraft gifted by Qatar.
Trump did not provide a detailed explanation for the aircraft change. He said he wanted to fly on the older aircraft “for old times’ sake.”
The new red, white, and navy blue Boeing 747-8-based Air Force One, which was gifted by Qatar and underwent a modernization process estimated at around US$400 million, was also positioned at Mildenhall.
In a post on social media, Trump said the stop at Mildenhall was made at the request of personnel stationed at the base. He added that the stop did not result in any significant change to the flight route from Türkiye to the United States.
The aircraft change has also renewed debate over the new presidential aircraft’s safety and defensive equipment. Publicly available images of the aircraft have prompted claims that some missile-detection and countermeasure systems used on the current Air Force One fleet may not be present on the new aircraft.
