President Donald Trump said Sunday that the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One will be sent to be “maxed out” in about a month, amid questions about the jet’s security technology.
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“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,” he said speaking in front of the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. It is unclear what exact upgrades Trump was referring to, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The plane is a Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million and donated by Qatar in an unusual deal between the U.S. and Qatari governments, which raised ethical, legal and national security concerns at the time it was donated and accepted by the Pentagon last summer. The Air Force in May said the aircraft — now with a dark blue, red and gold paint scheme — had undergone modification and flight testing.
After the accelerated modification process, Trump began flying on the new jet this month.
The FBI opened an investigation of the New York Times, issuing subpoenas to several reporters, after the outlet published reporting citing sources who said the aircraft lacked some of the defensive countermeasures previous planes had, including advanced antimissile capabilities.
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Trump arrived at the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month on the gifted jet, but in a surprise switch did not use that plan when he left.
Trump denied then that security concerns prompted the change, but also suggested that Iran could have tried to attack his plane. Reporters flying with the president were asked to close their window blinds as they departed Ankara.
“They asked you to close your windows; they probably feel that way [about possible threats]. They didn’t ask me to close mine, but if they did, I would’ve done it,” Trump said.
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