Trump's $400 Million Qatari Jet Grounded for Security Upgrades This Fall, White House Confirms

The White House confirmed Monday that President Trump's new Air Force One, the Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar's royal family, will go offline this fall for roughly a month of additional security upgrades.

"The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President's travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CBS News. During that stretch, Trump will fly the older, original Air Force One.

Trump previewed the move himself on Sunday, talking to reporters after the FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. "It has a lot of capability," Trump said, according to Reuters and The Guardian. "But as I understand it, in about a month or so, they're gonna send it to have it be maxed out."

He didn't specify what "maxed out" means in practice. Nobody from L3Harris, the defense contractor that ran the original 10-month refit, or the Air Force has detailed the scope of the new work.

What's Actually Missing

The jet, which the administration calls the "VC-25 Bridge Aircraft," entered service July 1, timed to coincide with the celebration of America's 250-year anniversary, according to Breaking Defense. Trump has flown it a handful of times since its debut in June.

The New York Times reported this month that the roughly 14-year-old plane, valued near $400 million, lacks core defensive systems standard on the purpose-built VC-25A fleet: infrared countermeasures to divert heat-seeking missiles, sensors to detect incoming launches, and electromagnetic pulse hardening needed to keep the government running during a nuclear or major cyber crisis, according to The Guardian.

The older Air Force One planes carry laser technology designed to blind or misdirect an incoming missile, along with other diversion systems, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by CBS News.

That gap became visible in practice. When Trump flew the Qatari jet to Turkey for a NATO summit earlier this month, he switched back to the older, more heavily defended aircraft for the return trip. At the time, Trump said the swap let U.S. troops stationed in England tour the new plane. CBS News reported that account doesn't match what its sources described: the switch was requested by the Secret Service, in part because the new plane wasn't yet equipped with the older jet's security features.

Sunday's comments mark the first time Trump has publicly acknowledged, even indirectly, that the plane isn't fully outfitted for the job.

The Reaction on Capitol Hill

Reaction split along predictable lines at the Farnborough Airshow, but not entirely.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she's called for a hearing on the plane's safety before. "We knew there were some issues around security with the plane. We've known that from the very beginning," Shaheen said, adding she wants the public reassured protection will be there.

Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican who also sits on the defense appropriations subcommittee, framed the decision to pull the plane for further work as a good sign, not a scandal. "If there was an examination and a problem apparently was determined to exist, the good news is that it's apparently going to be addressed," Moran said, adding lawmakers should be "supportive of corrective measures."

An administration catching a security gap and fixing it before something goes wrong reflects the system working as intended. The alternative, flying a president around without adequate countermeasures because nobody wanted to admit a mistake, would be far worse.

The Bigger Fight

The jet has been controversial since Qatar's royal family gifted it last year. Ethics watchdogs and congressional Democrats have argued the arrangement raises constitutional concerns under the emoluments clause, given Trump intends to keep the plane for his presidential library after leaving office. The Justice Department under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi approved the arrangement in 2025, according to The Guardian.

The Times report also triggered a separate fight over press freedom. Days after the story ran, FBI agents hand-delivered grand jury subpoenas to Times reporters, seeking to identify their sources. The Times has since moved to quash the subpoenas.

The Air Force has estimated retrofit costs at under $400 million for the jet's original refit, according to The Guardian, though it's unclear whether the new round of upgrades Trump referenced Sunday will add to that bill, and taxpayers deserve a real number before the plane goes back into service this fall.

Two new Boeing-built Air Force One jets, ordered years ago, remain roughly four years behind schedule. Until those are delivered, Trump will be flying either a foreign government's gift with acknowledged security gaps, or the aging original fleet it was meant to replace.