Trump Endangered Himself — And the Press — on Air Force One
Here's why he's hitching a ride back to Washington on an older plane.
While attending the two-day NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday that he is dispatching the new so-called bridge 747 to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom.
He claimed it was to give U.S. soldiers stationed there “a chance to tour the aircraft.”
Mr. Trump then stated, “For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall.”
Nice try but no one — and certainly not us — believes that cover story.
The flare-up between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz is undoubtedly why Mr. Trump is swapping planes.
The new VC-25B Bridge aircraft, which Qatar donated to America, may look the part; in reality, however, it lacks the robust defensive systems its predecessors, the VC-25As that most Americans are familiar with, sported.
In the balance: The VC-25B, which is a Boeing 747-8i (the “i” stands for international), likely only has basic active defensive systems and countermeasures including secure communications for domestic presidential travel during normal times.
But these are not normal times. The nation is effectively at war in the Middle East, and numerous Iranian officials and commentators have called for Mr. Trump to be assassinated.
Candidly, we are still surprised the Secret Service and U.S. Central Command signed off on Mr. Trump using the VC-25B to travel to Turkey in the first place.
Syria is to the south. Lebanon, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-sponsored Hezbollah militia, is a short distance away. And numerous Hamas operatives, also backed by the IRGC, have taken refuge in Turkey.
MANPADS, shoulder-fired ground-to-air missiles, pose a clear and present danger, and there is no shortage of pro-Iranian militants in Turkey who, if equipped, would not hesitate in trying to shoot down Air Force One.
The legacy VC-25As are equipped to defend against such ground threats, including incoming surface-to-air missiles (which are also in abundance in the region). They are also designed to withstand electromagnetic pulses emanating from nuclear blasts.
As noted by The War Zone, the VC-25As are laden with “missile approach warning sensors and many laser countermeasures turrets (DIRCM).”
Notably, the legacy VC-25As are also well equipped with the “Matador infrared countermeasure system above their jet engines and APU.” Those engines create heat signatures that make it easier for ground-to-air missiles to lock on their targets.
Significantly, The War Zone’s review of the new VC-25B surprisingly did not find “any evidence of the aircraft being modified with defensive countermeasures.”
Nor did it appear to be equipped with any basic systems “such as Elbit’s C-Music or Northrop Grumman’s Guardian [that] are in service with foreign VVIP 747s, [including] those flying for the Israeli airline El Al.”
If that was still the case when Mr. Trump flew to Turkey, then he and everyone on board, including the press corps, were potentially sitting ducks for a motivated malign actor.
Decision point: Mr. Trump must come to terms with the fact he is a wartime president.
Flying the new VC-25B may be more luxurious and convenient given its range. But it is also far riskier. MANPADS, given their small size, could easily be smuggled into the United States by terrorists or commandos working on the IRGC’s behalf.
Sometimes older is better, and by all appearances, Mr. Trump just found that out in Turkey.
In that regard, while no doubt the risk was significantly less in the United Kingdom, Mr. Trump would have been wise to return to Washington, D.C., in the legacy VC-25A and bypass Mildenhall altogether as things continue to heat up in Iran.
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