Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday on an old presidential plane instead of the new Qatar-donated Boeing 747-8 on which he had previously flown to the event. According to The New York Times, the Secret Service recommended changing the plane for security reasons, although no specific threats were detected at the time of departure. After a stop at the British Mildenhall airbase, Trump transferred to a new plane and continued on to the United States.
Trump arrived at the NATO summit on Monday on a Boeing 747-8 plane, which he accepted as a gift from Qatari authorities last year. Already on Wednesday, on the day of departure from Ankara, the president wrote in Truth Social that the new aircraft was sent to Mildenhall base in the UK so that military personnel could “appreciate the excellent addition to the air force fleet.” He himself, in his words, decided to fly from Turkey to Mildenhall on the old Air Force One “in memory of old times”.
“As a mark of respect to our brave men and women serving in the military, we are sending the brand new and truly impressive Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the UK to give them the opportunity to inspect the aircraft. For a throwback to old times, we'll fly from Turkey to Mildenhall on the old Air Force One. “It's a short flight that's totally worth it for our great military heroes to experience our wonderful addition to the Air Force fleet,” Trump said.
President Trump pulls off a surprise aircraft swap, switching to an older Air Force One leaving Turkey before boarding his new $400M jet at RAF Mildenhall. pic.twitter.com/88A9Me0R64
— MEAWW News (@meawwcom) July 9, 2026
Speaking to reporters aboard the plane after taking off from Turkey, Trump was asked why passengers were asked to keep their window shades closed. The President replied that this was due to “the scum that we have to deal with.” Asked whether he was aware of any credible threats from Iran, whose leadership he had previously criticized in similar terms, the president said he was “threatened all the time.”
“I get threats all the time. I’m number one on their list,” he noted.
Upon arrival, Trump said he made it to the airbase with “virtually no deviation from his route.”
“We have just landed and met our new Air Force One, which was sent ahead to Mildenhall AFB so we could show it off to the wonderful service members at the request of the entire base,” the president wrote.
According to sources in The New York Times, the new plane does not yet have all the capabilities of the old presidential plane. NPR notes that photographs suggest it is missing some of the missile detection and countermeasures systems found on the former Air Force One aircraft.
In particular, it was previously reported that the old board is equipped with a system designed to blind approaching anti-aircraft missiles, dipole reflectors for electronic jamming, and the ability to refuel in the air. It remains unclear whether the new aircraft has similar features.
The Boeing 747-8 underwent modifications, the cost of which is estimated at approximately $400 million. According to The Hill, defense contractor L3Harris completed the conversion of a commercial airliner into a presidential jet in 10 months.
Trump previously said he would be a “fool” not to accept the gift from the Qatari government and called it a “great gesture” on their part. He said he plans to use the plane for “a couple of years” while his administration waits for the completion of two other Boeing planes that meet strict military standards.
After Trump arrived in Ankara, the United States launched a series of strikes in response to unknown shells hitting three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz – an incident Washington regarded as a “clear violation of the ceasefire.” At the summit, Trump called negotiations with Iran a waste of time and criticized Tehran's leadership, emphasizing that he does not intend to “deal with these scum.”
Axios journalist Bark Ravid reported that on Thursday the United States struck Iran's infrastructure for the first time since early April, attacking two railway bridges in the northeast of the country.
