On 7/7, President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey, on the new VC-25B aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-8i nicknamed the "flying palace" which Qatar gifted to the US last year. However, on 8/7, after the NATO summit concluded, he departed on the older VC-25A, an aircraft that has been in service for nearly 40 years.

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One upon arriving for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on 7/7. Photo: AP

President Trump did not explicitly explain the reason for the aircraft change at the time, stating only that he "wanted to be nostalgic." The older aircraft carried him from Turkey, a nation bordering Iran, to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. There, Trump transferred back to the new aircraft for his return to Washington.

The NY Times, citing informed sources, reported that before President Trump left Ankara, the US Secret Service recommended he use the older aircraft as a security measure, given the escalating conflict between the US and Iran.

Sources added that the new VC-25B, converted in a short timeframe, lacked some security features and communication capabilities present in the older Air Force One. The decision to switch aircraft was a precaution, not a response to a specific threat.

President Trump departed Turkey less than a day after US forces conducted a series of large-scale airstrikes on Iran in response to attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and immediately prior to new US airstrikes launched in the early hours of 8/7. Iran subsequently retaliated with attacks on US bases in the Gulf region.

The US President appeared to acknowledge certain security risks. "I'm always threatened. I'm their number one target," he stated aboard the aircraft when reporters asked if he was aware of any threats from Iran that might target his plane.

The US VC-25A aircraft in Turkey before President Trump departed the NATO summit on 8/7. Photo: AP

The US President's older Air Force One is reportedly equipped with a missile approach warning system, an infrared jamming system capable of "blinding" incoming anti-aircraft missiles, and a decoy defense system that can be deployed to divert missiles.

The new aircraft is considered more comfortable and spacious, but it reportedly lacks such advanced defense systems and aerial refueling capability. Two former US national security officials told MS Now that this aircraft also lacked the secure communication systems necessary for the US President to quickly manage the increasingly tense situation with Iran.

A former official stated that aboard the older Air Force One, en route from Ankara to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, President Trump communicated with the military and ordered the second wave of airstrikes on Iran.

In such tense situations, the older Air Force One can function as an "aerial Situation Room," allowing the President to receive classified information, maintain secure communication lines with the military, and issue orders to generals.

The interior structure of Air Force One. Graphic: Telegraph

In contrast, the VC-25B, originally built for passenger transport, cannot ensure such command and control capabilities. Its features, even after modification, have not been fully tested, according to sources.

"This plane was built for aesthetics, not for mission execution," a former US national security official remarked. "We see its paint, its luxurious leather seats, but we cannot fully know its capabilities."

Ngoc Anh (According to Telegraph, AP, MS Now)