Trump switches to legacy Air Force One for return flight amid Iran-US strikes

President Donald Trump departed the NATO summit in Turkey on an older Boeing VC-25A, the legacy Air Force One, rather than the newly retrofitted aircraft gifted by Qatar. Both planes made an unscheduled stop at Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom before the president continued to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump said on social media that the stop allowed service members to see the new jet, adding that the change was “for old time’s sake” and involved “virtually no deviation of flightpath.”

The swap came as the United States and Iran resumed exchanging missile strikes. When asked whether security concerns about Iran influenced the decision, Trump declined to confirm, noting he is “No. 1 on their list.” He also suggested that window blinds were closed on the older aircraft because of “sleazebags over here,” a reference to Iran, though he said his own compartment remained unaffected.

The new Qatari-gifted jet, a Boeing 747-800 modified for presidential use, lacks some missile-detection and countermeasure systems present on the older fleet, according to analysts. The U.S. Air Force said the aircraft was delivered “without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,” but acknowledged that several complex upgrades were omitted from the interim “bridge” aircraft. A senior analyst noted the missing systems make the jet more suitable for domestic flights rather than high-risk environments.

Flight-tracker data showed the transponder on the legacy plane was temporarily disabled after takeoff, a standard security measure for presidential movements in potentially hostile areas. Other leaders’ aircraft remained trackable. The Air Force expects the next generation of upgraded Air Force One jets to enter service in 2028.