The US President will fly next week for an international visit in the Qatari Boeing 747, despite security threats and a delay in upgrading the plane’s defense systems • In July, Trump was secretly rescued from the plane in Turkey following an Iranian threat
The President of the United States Donald Trump is expected to take off next week for an official visit to Ireland aboard the Boeing 747 plane given to him as a gift by the Emir of Qatar. The decision to use the plane comes despite growing concerns in the American security system, according to which the aircraft still lacks the advanced protection and encrypted communication systems installed in the original “Air Force 1” planes, according to a report published today (Friday).
According to the report, the flight to Ireland will be Trump’s first international trip aboard the Qatari plane since the security incident that occurred last July during the NATO summit in Ankara. As you may recall, an intelligence report was passed on a targeted Iranian threat to attack Trump’s plane. As a result, Trump was rescued from Turkey in a secret operation on a replacement military plane, while his official plane was used as a camouflage and took off with only his entourage and journalists.
Following the incident in the summer, Trump promised that the plane would be sent for an extensive upgrade and would receive the most advanced systems. The work was planned for this fall, but the White House has not announced a timetable for the work, which may be delayed after the midterm elections.
The US has already invested about $400 million in adapting the aircraft. Former White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said at the time that the upgrade work would begin in the fall and last about a month, but security experts warn that a complete upgrade of anti-missile defense systems and secure communications requires much more time than allotted.