Trump flies on older Air Force One under threat from Iran as ex-Qatari jet awaits more upgrades
Trump flew to the UK on the older, better-defended Air Force One Boeing 747-200 a couple of weeks ago after threats by Iran. The Air Force is now hurriedly working to upgrade the new presidential Bridge aircraft.
Trump switched to the older VC-25A aircraft after a NATO summit
According to a New York Times report, Trump departed for the NATO summit in Turkey in early July in an old VC-26A Air Force One jet due to security concerns.
During the tour, Trump initially flew to the conference in Ankara in the new Bridge aircraft. At the time, US officials received credible threats to the US president from Iran and its proxies. Iran has made numerous threats against Trump’s life.
CBS News wrote, “the US detected a credible plot to fire a missile at the plane. Upon receiving the intelligence, the US Secret Service swiftly swapped to a backup strategy. “
After the summit, the US president flew in the old backup VC-25A to the United Kingdom. From there, Trump once again boarded the new Bridge 747-8 and returned to the United States.
CBS News noted at the time that the swap raised questions about the security of the new Bridge aircraft and that the Secret Service switched to the older aircraft “as a precautionary measure amid the US-Iran war.”
Ex-Qatari VC-26B Bridge may be less secure
The new ex-Qatari Air Force One VC-26B Bridge aircraft was inaugurated the month prior. Many analysts thought that would be the final time Trump would take the aging aircraft.
The older VC-26A aircraft are based on the Boeing 747-200, and as AGN has previously reported, they are believed to have received a much larger range of military modifications than the rapidly converted ex-Qatari luxury jet by L3Harris Technologies.
The older heavily modified Boeing 747-200s are becoming increasingly unreliable and difficult to maintain. However, they come equipped with various defence systems, including laser technology to blind incoming missiles as well as other diversion technologies.
The new Bridge aircraft likely has some self-defence capabilities, but it is unclear which systems have been installed.
Hundreds of people now getting to walk around the New Air Force One (VC-25B Bridge) at RAF Mildenhall
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) July 8, 2026
🎥RankUpAviation pic.twitter.com/nS5wNMRKtI
Trump publicly denied the switch was security-driven, saying the plane was sent ahead so base personnel could see it. He said, “No, no. We sent it a little bit early so we could let them see it. The base, the whole base came out and saw the plane.”
More upgrades are planned for the VC-26B Bridge aircraft
The White House stated earlier this week that for now Trump will continue to fly with the older aircraft as the Bridge gets upgraded.
CBS News quoted the White House press secretary Karline Leavitt saying it will “receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete.”
Leavitt then added that the President will continue to fly in the older aircraft until then. For his part, Trump said the new aircraft would be “maxed out” in the month ahead.
The aircraft has been mixed up in politics in Washington. A group of 13 Democratic senators is demanding a cost breakdown for the temporary aircraft that is only expected to remain in service for around two years.
At least $400 million (and possibly around $1 billion) in funds are known to have been .
The purpose-built VC-25B replacements are expected to be delivered by Boeing in 2028 and 2029.
