Overview
- Security officials carried out a covert operation on July 8 that had the president board the legacy Air Force One on the Ankara tarmac, move him minutes later into an airport catering truck, and transfer him onto an Air Force C-32A that flew to RAF Mildenhall while the legacy jet acted as a decoy.
- Video and flight-tracking material reviewed by reporters show the three aircraft followed different routes, the C-32A used an ordinary military call sign, and the legacy plane later adopted the AF1 call sign despite the president not being aboard.
- U.S. officials told reporters the move was prompted by a credible Iran-linked assassination threat, but detailed intelligence remains compartmented and has not been publicly released.
- The secret transfer renews concerns about the Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, which entered service after an accelerated retrofit and has been reported to lack some legacy defensive and mission communications systems, and the White House has said further upgrades are planned.
- Lawmakers and watchdogs are calling for oversight and access to classified briefings, critics want answers about accepting and fast-tracking a foreign-donated presidential jet, and at least one senator has urged a congressional investigation into the operation and disclosure decisions.