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Can Qatari jet gifted to Trump take a nuclear hit? What it needs to be Air Force One
Trump received a luxury jet from Qatar and plans to use it as temporary Air Force One. However, officials have some warnings.
Donald Trump recently received a luxury jet as a gift by the Qatari Royal family and is now reportedly planning to use the aircraft as a temporary Air Force One, the official air traffic control-designated call sign for the plane that carries carrying the US president.
But converting the jet gifted by the Qatari royal family as a temporary Air Force One for presidential use may come at the cost of national security, officials cited in an Associated Press report said.
As the White House navigates legal questions over accepting the plane, military and national security leaders are quietly debating how much to modify the aircraft — and how fast — to make it fit for a commander in chief.
What would it cost?
Installing the full suite of security and communications tech typical of Air Force One could cost upwards of $1.5 billion and take years, according to US officials, cited in the AP report, which added that the time it would take to do all of that would dash Trump’s hopes of flying in the aircraft before the end of his term.
The US Air Force is working on replacing the current aging 747s with highly customised presidential aircraft — a project plagued by delays and budget overruns. Experts have warned that retrofitting the Qatari plane to the same standard risks the same fate.
Air Force secretary Troy Meink told Congress the core security upgrades for the Qatari jet would be “less than $400 million” but did not elaborate. However, lawmakers and defense officials remain skeptical that a safe and fully equipped plane can be delivered in such a short window.
Donald Trump, however, has made clear he wants the Qatari plane operational “as soon as possible” while still “adhering to security standards,” a White House official said, speaking anonymously.
What upgrades will the Qatari jet require?
But experts caution that transforming the Qatari aircraft into a reliable Air Force One is no quick task.
“You’d have to break that whole thing wide open and almost start from scratch,” AP quoted Deborah Lee James, former Air Force Secretary, referring to the extensive rewiring needed to match Air Force One’s security protocols.
The list of required upgrades is not a short one:
-Anti-missile defense,
-EMP shielding,
-Classified communications,
-and command systems robust enough to survive a nuclear blast.
“The point is, it remains in flight no matter what,” James said.
While cutting corners might be tempting for a president on the clock, experts say Secret Service can plan for and mitigate risk but can never eliminate it. Trump, as commander in chief, has the authority to waive some requirements.
Still, James warned, waiving certain features should remain classified: “You don’t want to advertise to your potential adversaries what the vulnerabilities of this new aircraft might be.”
Cosmetic changes, however, are almost certain as Trump famously prefers a darker paint scheme modeled after his personal jet, and a model of the design reportedly still sits in his office.
Trump personally toured the Qatari jet in February near Mar-a-Lago, accompanied by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin. While the jet reportedly needs maintenance, officials say it’s not beyond what’s expected for an aircraft of its size and complexity.
