Trump’s Qatari Jet Has ‘High-Level Security,’ White House Says—Experts Raise Doubts
The White House—which briefly grounded the new Air Force One gifted by Qatar—assured Forbes the plane was safe from the "many enemies of America who have their sights on" Trump, but questions have emerged over whether it has met the necessary security upgrades.
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, told Forbes the jet gifted to Trump by Qatar last year has been “fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” saying there are “many enemies of America who have their sights on him,” though he did not elaborate on specific costs or upgrades.
The Air Force began security upgrades to the jet in September, just 10 months before its first flight in what experts have considered an unusually quick turnaround, saying it would modify it for “executive airlift” support but that all other details of the renovations were classified.
Troy E. Meink, secretary of the Air Force, told Congress last year the upgrades to the jet would cost “probably less than $400 million”—but estimates by some aviation experts and Democratic lawmakers have placed the total price of renovations around $1 billion.
Aviation experts told NBC News some renovations would likely include dismantling and reassembling the jet to ensure there are no listening devices or spyware, as well as installing systems for secure government communications, missile defense, midair refueling and countering electro-magnetic attacks, as well as quarters for White House medical staff and Secret Service—but they said these upgrades could take years.
Andrew P. Hunter, a Biden administration Air Force official, told the New York Times some of the more complex security work would involve implementing advanced missile defense systems and hardening the wiring to protect it against a nuclear blast, though it’s unclear to what extent this work was done.
Forbes has reached out to the Pentagon and Air Force for comment.
Trump took his first flight on the new Air Force One last week on a trip to North Dakota, before taking it on its first international flight to Turkey for a NATO summit. Trump flew part of the way home on the old Air Force One before switching to the Qatari jet, reportedly because the Secret Service advised him to use the old jet amid reignited tensions with Iran. Trump claimed he used the older jet “for old time’s sake,” while also telling reporters in Ankara he is “number one on the kill list for Iran.”
Some experts have voiced concerns the administration did not allocate enough time to complete all security renovations, given the administration plans to donate the plane to Trump’s library foundation in 2029. Richard Aboulafia, a military aviation consultant, told NBC News some of the expected renovations, including equipping the plane with midair refueling capabilities, would be “enormously time-consuming” and could take until the 2030s. Hunter told the Times this week the administration likely had enough time to “accommodate communications upgrades,” but “not anything that would require significant structural work,” saying a proper retrofit would take at least more than one year of work. Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force under the Biden administration, questioned whether the plane has “protective measures that Air Force Ones have against different types of threats” in an interview with MS NOW last week, noting the unusually quick turnaround for the plane’s retrofitting.
Some Democratic lawmakers have heaped criticism on the Trump administration over the jet, taking aim at its cost and potential burden on taxpayers. In a letter to Meink in August, a cohort of Democratic senators including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., accused the administration of making taxpayers fund $1 billion in security renovations, while also accusing Qatar of “trying to curry favor with the administration.” The lawmakers said it is “concerning” that the jet would only be used for a few years after undergoing expensive renovations, as the Trump administration has said the plane would be donated to Trump’s presidential library after his term ends. The lawmakers also wrote they were concerned by a New York Times report that said nearly $1 billion in funds from Sentinel, a modernization program for the country’s nuclear capabilities, would be rerouted to the Qatari jet, voicing concerns over “mismanagement.” Democrats also stepped up criticism of the jet this week after Trump flew on it. The press account for Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., quoted a post from Cheung that included pictures of the jet’s interior, writing, “Air Fraud One.” Warren, in a post earlier this week, wrote: “Instead of signing the bipartisan bill to make housing more affordable, Donald Trump is taking a joy ride in his $400 million taxpayer-renovated Qatari jet.”