Rumors spread quickly when President Trump departed the NATO summit in Turkey in early July aboard the old 747‑200B (VC‑25A) baby-blue-and-white Air Force One instead of the shiny new $400 million Qatari-donated jet that had recently been put in service. (After a stopover in England, he returned to the U.S. on the new plane.)
Was it because he is “number one on the kill list for Iran” and the Islamic Republic was threatening to assassinate him?
The story grew even more complicated after The New York Times alleged that the new plane was lacking advanced security features. The Department of Justice issued subpoenas to the reporters involved, but the outlet filed a motion to quash them, and the matter is still under litigation.
On Monday, however, the president confirmed that the new jet needed upgrading, and it will be temporarily taken out of service to get “maxed out”:
“You know it has a lot of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they’re going to send it to have it be maxed out,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews after returning to Washington from the World Cup final in New Jersey.
“So they’re going to be sending it, and they’ll have it be maxed out. It’ll take about a month.”
Watch:
President Trump said that the Qatari-donated jet that serves as an Air Force One plane will soon be sent away for upgrades, following questions about the plane's security features https://t.co/Tx7NCAbsY0 pic.twitter.com/xk7plB8SPi
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 20, 2026
MORE: DOJ Subpoenas NYT Reporters in Leak Investigation After Air Force One Story, Iran Assassination Plot
'#1 on the Kill List' — Is That Why Trump Ditched the Brand-New $400M AF1 for NATO Departure?
The Times story had suggested that the plane lacked a crucial defense system that the older plane already has:
The report questioned whether the Boeing 747-8 had been “retrofitted with sufficient security measures” — including “an advanced missile defense system” during the rush to get it in the air.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal— including distraction and misdirection— to address those threats,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a July 9 statement attempting to explain the late change.
🚨 UPDATE: The new Air Force One is being sent off to be UPGRADED, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announces
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 20, 2026
47 will use the old Air Force One during the roughly one-month process 🇺🇸
It's important Trump has MAXIMUM safety on any Air Force One he is using 🙏🏻… pic.twitter.com/VZyYG2F1zC
🚨 UPDATE: The new Air Force One is being sent off to be UPGRADED, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announces
47 will use the old Air Force One during the roughly one-month process 🇺🇸
It's important Trump has MAXIMUM safety on any Air Force One he is using 🙏🏻
LEAVITT: "The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete. During that time, the President will fly on the old Air Force One," she said per CBS
In about a month, then, we’ll be back to the old plane for an undetermined period. The familiar robin’s egg blue and white color scheme picked by JFK all those years ago will once again be a familiar sight in the skies.
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