WASHINGTON: A Boeing 747 jet offered to President Donald Trump by Qatar as a temporary flying White House might need fighter jet escorts and could be restricted to flying inside the US unless significant costly security upgrades were made, aviation experts and industry sources said.
Even if numerous improvements to the plane’s communications and defenses are made over the coming months once any deal is completed, the military escort and domestic restriction could remain in place, the experts and sources said.
As the commander-in-chief, however, Trump could waive any and all requirements like these, a former Air Force official noted.
Retrofitting the luxury plane offered by Qatar’s royal family would require security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent spies from listening in and the ability to fend off incoming missiles, experts said. The costs were not known, but could be significant given Boeing’s current effort to build two new Air Force One planes exceeds $5 billion.
The Air Force referred a request for comment to the White House, which did not have an immediate comment.
There are serious questions about whether any combination of fighter escorts and short-term upgrades would be enough to provide sufficient protection for the president.
“I don’t think it’s possible,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Defense and Security Department, referring to short timeline for the deep modifications.
“Air Force One is designed to be survivable in all kinds of environments, including a nuclear war,” he added, noting the jet’s ability to tolerate the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast is embedded in the jet’s wiring and systems from the bottom up. “That’s not something you add on.”
Trump has dismissed criticism of his widely-reported plan to accept the 13-year-old airplane with a $400 million list price, saying it would be “stupid” to turn down the offer.
Trump also called it a practical decision, and that he was disappointed Boeing had taken so long to deliver on already delayed contracts for the two new Air Force One planes that he renegotiated during his first term.
“If he wants it, and he says ‘I’ll accept any risk associated with not having all the stuff the real Air Force One has,’ he can do that,” the former Air Force official said.
While Air Force One does not normally fly with fighter escorts, the new plane may need them to defend against missile threats, the former official added.
An escort could be necessary because the Qatari plane “wouldn’t have the electronic warfare and missile warning systems and whatever else you associate with survivability on Air Force One,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory.
