President Trump's Qatari 747 is a flying security disaster
Air Force Dumb
Qatar is gifting Trump a $400 million luxury 747 to serve as a temporary Air Force One, but experts warn that retrofitting it to meet presidential security standards could take years, cost hundreds of millions more, and risk national security due to potential embedded surveillance.
The current VC-25s aren't just repainted 747s. They're a pair of flying fortresses that must be capable of allowing the president to run the country, survive wartime conditions (even nuclear), and be totally secure from outside influence or intrusion. While the precise details of the current airframe are a tightly guarded secret, some details are included on government fact sheets or have been revealed in various media reports. For a start, it must have an in-flight refueling capability so the president can go anywhere in the world and stay up as long as needed. Retrofitting this to an existing 747 would be very expensive, as the feds would need to strengthen portions of the hull to handle the refueling system and reconfigure the fuel tanks to handle trim issues.
Then there's the hull, which is known to be armored, and the windows are also thicker than you'd find on a normal flight. The government would also need to build in weapons systems like the chaff rockets used against radar-guided missiles, flares against heat seekers, and AN/ALQ-204 Matador Infrared Countermeasure systems, or similar to try and confuse incoming missiles. Next up, the engines and electrical systems would have to be replaced. The electronics in the current VC-25s are hardened as much as possible against an electromagnetic pulse that would be generated by a nuclear detonation. There are also claims that the aircraft have extra shielding in the engines to help against missile fragments should a physical attack happen.
Next up are communications. Air Force One has air-to-ground, air-to-air, and satellite comms systems that are thought to be the equal of what's in the White House. There are at least two separate internal phone systems - one open and the other highly secure - that would need to be installed and checked as well. Then there are incidentals. Contrary to what films will tell you, there is no escape capsule on the current Air Force One, nor a rear parachute ramp, but there is a medical suite with emergency equipment and space for a physician which would already need to be installed, as well as a secured cargo area designed to prevent tampering or unauthorized access. As for the threat of embedded surveillance devices, Richard Aboulafia, managing director of aircraft consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said: "You'd have to take it apart piece by piece to stop a professional operator putting in lots of equipment to confuse things, like spare sensors and wiring."
"It wouldn't be in the air before 2030 at the earliest, long after he's left office and probably later than the existing planned replacements," said Aboulafia. "It makes no sense on any level, except that he wants a free 747 for himself. Nothing else makes any sense."
"What's sort of annoying about the whole thing is I'm not sure what's wrong with the current Air Force One," Aboulafia said. "Maybe if they gave it a gold makeover, he'd like it more."
https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/13/presidents_trump_747_qatar/Open linkView original on dubvee.org
This was literally my first thought. You'd basically have to go through every one of the millions of components across every square inch to verify there was nothing sketchy going on. Not to mention, you'd have to review all of the software and firmware to make sure it wasn't modified or sabotaged in some way. It would take an excruciating amount of effort to make it "safe".
Software alone would probably have to be replaced.
Who in their right mind in the US government would trust another country, any country, to install and run their own software on their leaders aircraft .... especially an aircraft that would be used in an emergency event.
Unfortunately they're not in their right mind.
I mean the top leaders are using Signal right off the shelf without a second thought already, the dumb shits.
That's not entirely true. They're also using a modified version of signal that is less secure than the default
literally just handing state secrets to a rogue nation
Not hey are not. They're using a modified signal that logs everything.
My hope is that they didn't put in any kill switch or have any malicious intention whatsoever. But, through shear incompetence, they did manage to make it have the bumpiest, most nausea-inducing ride of any 747 ever. The Qataris stuffed the thing with gold without any consideration of aircraft vibrational dynamics. And while the plane will still fly safely, it will mean Trump has to fly around in a giant golden vomit comet.
The more time Trump spends puking into a toilet, the less time he can spare for signing executive orders. I consider that a win.
Hmm know you know how the rest of the world feels about American companies running everything. Yes the west let it happen but it still sucks.
And even then. Integrated circuits in some system may have been replaced by fake versions carrying some extra functions, it would be relatively cheap to have this done, especially for a kingdom with billions in spare change, and damn near impossible to detect
They could just put a gold-covered iPhone in the shitter and he'd log in and use it
Hey some of us are hoping for hardcore sketch.
I hope it explodes in midair with his whole damn family onboard.
A wing falling off midair would give them more time to consider karma on the way down.
Trump (age 79) crosses yet another boundary of morals and decency by becoming the first serving president to star in a porn film. A gaudy production filmed in the Golden Halls of Gold Force One. He performs various sexual acts with several young women, each bearing an uncanny resemblance to one of his own female family members.
Dear God I wish I could unread that.
It would probably be less expensive to design a completely new one from the ground up whose interior looks identical to the Qatari jet, rather than retrofit the offered one. But either way it wouldn’t be ready for years…
Oh please. He's already blurting out everything he knows onlate-night Xitter and Truthiness. And he refuses briefings, so that's not much anyway. Just send him up with nobody but his panderers, so any spies will only hear his shitty stories about himself. Eventually they'll get so sick of it they'll shoot him down. Oh, well!
Any sane person with critical thinking skills can see this is a bad idea, so obviously Trump loves it.
Glad to see this spelled out so clearly.
Putting in a reasonable amount of effort to retrofit it will be ready around 2028.
Emphasis mine.
It is honestly probably easier to build a whole new plane than to take that thing apart sufficiently to eliminate any chance of spy devices.
...and at extreme cost. This is not very DOGE-aligned at all.
This is exactly what I pointed out at first.
The existing presidential planes have pragmatic measures to deal with the less pleasant aspects and possibilities of presidential duties. This plane in contrast is nothing but absurd levels of luxury for rich dicks who want to show off their wealth and is unfit as a presidential plane.
The fact that Trump wants to use it as Air Force One for himself says a lot about how he views his duties as the president and how little personal sacrifice he is willing to do to serve his country.
I mean the VC-25 is basically a different plane built into the design of the 747.
Like the presidential motorcade, it's basically reinforced to all hell so it can avoid attack. Even though it's escorted, it needs those countermeasures.
I mean air force one is any Air Force plane the president is in.
Really like this story. trumps greed is on full display because wants a palace so bad he can't even fathom that this is a bad idea at every conceivable level.
Shows he doesn't care about spending money when it's himself. Dossnt care about a gift from terrorist supporters. Doesn't care about the money it would cost dismantling that to search for bugs. lol.
You know what? Fuck it, let him use it. Then we can all laugh when it quite literally blows up in his face.
The real dick move would be to dismantle the current AF1 so the next President pretty much has no choice but to use this monstrosity.
He's taking it with him, the deal states it will go to his presidential library when he leaves office
Aren't libraries supposed to have literature?
The reading rooms will be filled with golden toilets and copies of Mein Kampf inscribed with Trump’s ridiculous Sharpie signature. Under Mein Kampf you’ll find a print out of the McDonald’s menu and unused Trump casino cocktail napkins.
The stacks will contain nothing but books spray painted gold and autographed copies of The Art of the Deal.
The archives will only contain printed out copies of every tweet and truth-post he’s ever made.
No, these will be inscribed into the surface of gold-plated metal cards.
Oh, right. Golden plates make more sense for cults.
I believe most presidential libraries have things beyond books. Things part of the president's legacy and personal equipment.
That said, I don't think any building could hold a 747 without being a hanger. And that's going to be a very empty building, even with a gift shop selling MAGA hats, sharpies, and other junk.
Maybe they can have a physical representation of the documents stored in a bathroom?
He won't have the current AF1 dismantled. What can be dismantled can be rebuilt. No, the old AF1 needs to be cursed. He won't dismantle the old AF1. He'll use the old Air Force one to funnel political prisoners to Central American prison camps.
No
This is the stupidest timeline. We miss you Harambe
He's living the dream with the quadriscut
Thank you for guiding me to the quadriscuit.
Perhaps Harambe was saving us from an even darker timeline.
Nice dream
I know how this is going to end. Trump will ignore all security advice and just move right into the new plane without any delay or investigation. He dubs the plane "Air Force Gold." He quickly forgets the security warnings and moves on with his term. Unfortunately for him, in time he also forgot who gave him that plane. Which is why he didn't think twice when in 2026, he stabbed the Qataris in the back in a crucial trade deal, arms contract, or international incident. One night, when the plane is flying over the remote Pacific, all systems aboard suddenly shut down. No control surfaces respond. The engines shut down and all control is lost. Gold Force One spirals downward, eventually striking the water at 400 mph. The debris of the plain quickly sinks, weighed down by literal gold. There are no survivors. "The Tale of Trump" eventually becomes a new Aesop.
"Where were you when you heard that Trump's plane went down?" is a conversation that does sound fun to have one day. But I just doubt it will happen. Too many other self-serving people in the admin will push to ensure it's safe behind the scenes (for them).
Besides, I'd rather see him in a jail cell. Or an execution chamber, if the court determines it required given treason is a capital offense and he is a repeat prolific offender. Either is fine with me - beggars can't be choosers.
Both is good. But now that I know the Pacific timeline I'm curious for the aftermaths.
This is just pure delusional. They wouldn't crash Air Force Gold with him on it. They would do it without him on it, as a warning. He's too easy to use, why would anybody with money exchange him for a potential 'difficult' president?
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Well, the current VC-25As are painted identically and fly together as a means of confusing an attacker on which plane the prez is on.
If Trump starts using his new plane, it won't have a twin and it will be clear which plane the prez is.
Cluster B personality disorder being played like a stringed puppet. There’s no way this plane isn’t rigged to surveillance and doesn’t have a kill switch.
Most people run away from Cluster B. 76 million ran to it to no vote for a democrat. And now here we are.
Q: Which Cluster B personality disorder?
A: Yes
NPD. Malignant type. Probably.
Reminds me of the bugging of the new embassy in Moscow. It's a cautionary tail in and of itself which relates to this jet.
Air and Space Forces Magazine: Cleaning the Bug House.
tale*
Animals have tails
I really hope Trump fucks himself over so monumentally on his quest for personal affirmations that he gets himself killed, or worse.
At this point, with all the crazy unreal stuff happening - tinfoil hat on - I'm not even 100% sure his previous assassination attempt was not staged. The more I think about it, the way the shooter managed to get past security and actually fire shots, how the shooter was being framed as a mad leftist (except not really, it seems), and how Trump already had so many pieces in place before election (Project 2025)...
Sure, I was convinced that the near-missed shot to the ear was impossible to fake - what would be the chances? But how about shooting in the general direction of Trump, faking a shot, while a micro-explosive device from the dark spy budgets gets placed on his ear? Tech is always evolving, so I wouldn't be too surprised if such a device existed. A ripped ear in exchange for being a quasi-martyr and getting lots of support as "God's chosen survivor" - not a bad tradeoff. Way too many coincidences along the way, to the point it becomes a pattern. Almost befitting a man who lost once and would go to any lenght to make sure he'd not lose ever again.
Anyways, even if somehow something as crazy as this could even happen - and it being found out - what would be the chances of him actually facing consequences for it? That said, I share your hope anyway.
How do we know he was actually wounded? It could have just been a blood pack.
Or worse 💦💦
My first thought was 'trojan horse'. Give a gift that you've laced with taps, traps, and software backdoors that you know your enemy won't be able to refuse.
Purely from a national security perspective, this is a horrible fucking idea. Also from a financial perspective, this is a horrible fucking idea. Right now you have at least two fully functional AF1s that are already equipped with the property gear and take the same parts. Now you want to completely retrofit a jet from a foreign adversary that will have separate parts and maintenance requirements from the other AF1s.
Talk about asking for a mistake to happen.
Man, I never thought I would live to see the day when the president of the United States faced a literal Trojan horse situation! Usually the only "Trojan horses" our leaders faced were metaphorical. Like, maybe a trade deal or alliance would seemed like a great opportunity at the time, but we would end up worse off in the long run. Or a computer virus that had a propagation method reminiscent of the tale of the Trojan War. That sort of thing. A metaphorical Trojan horse.
But this? This is a literal Trojan horse! Someone is literally offering the president a giant big dumb opulent PHYSICAL OBJECT, and it threatens the security of the nation. This is a materially direct 1:1 reenactment of the the the Greeks giving the Trojans the famous Trojan Horse.
Irony is dead.
Trump is the embodiment of a security disaster, the airplane is just the icing on the top
He's not leaving office. He fought against stepping down last time and everyone has given him more power this time. He will never leave that office while he lives.
He's neither healthy nor young. I didn't know about his odds of leaving office, but I wouldn't be surprised if the plane isn't done until after he is.
Which is why we should let him use it exactly as it is. Just don't tell him anything while he's on it, in case of espionage. He won't notice because he doesn't listen anyway. And let nobody else on it except his most loyal supporters. And of course Ellen Musk. So if it goes down, no loss to the nation.
I mean he spews everything on truth social anyway what secrets could he have.
He can't be prosecuted while in office so yeah, he'll do anything he can to stay. If he somehow is removed from office he's immediately heading to Russia and never returning.
You're right. Him accepting it and not caring shows he thinks he's never leaving office. Well done.
You know what? Let’s apply some of that “government efficiency” idiocy that he claims to be driving. Sure. Just jump in it and start flying around. Nothing matters anymore. By all means, traipse around in an unsecured, relatively undefended beacon of American shittiness without any of the standard VIP transport countermeasures, let alone the countermeasures that exist on the current AF1. See what happens.
Children of Kali noises intensify
Maybe he'll die? please?
Not sure who would want to kill him. Assad? But he's already deposed. Hamas or Jordan could probably get intel from the Saudis, but lack firepower.
Russia and China are celebrating President Idiot, definitely don't want to replace him with somebody competent.
Any sane US resident?
Yeah but then a US Made Air Force One would have better odds than a Saudi one, no?
How would Donnie react if they did take the plane... and then gave it the FULL work over? I'm talking fully disassembled on some hangar floor, not a single bolt holding two things together. Gotta check everything!
"Sure, Mister P, your plane will be ready for use in just a couple of years, maybe 2036."
"No. Leave it as it is or you and everyone else with common sense is fired."
EO saying it's good enough.
The real question is "what news is trump trying to bury with this 747 crap"
I'm not sure he's smart enough to try that tactic.
That's literally his only tactic, he does it constantly. How entire existence is a distraction for the oligarchy.
Very true. The question then I, suppose is, did someone on his staff think of it for him. Lol.
Oh, but that's the mindset from before the current administration. Back when presidential whims were at least moderated by process and oversight. Back when people believed that it didn't matter if America elected a ridiculous tinpot dictator, because they couldn't do anything just by themselves, the rest of the government was there to see the law and procedures were to be followed at all times. Now? Nobody in the White House cares. Donnie wants a jet, Donnie gets a jet.
I mean the entire Trump and Republican administration is a security disaster. What's one more complete breakdown in national security at this point? Just cutting out the middleman with messaging apps on insecure devices.
This is yet another reason why the president shouldn't be a king; he shouldn't be able to make decisions that influence his own security negatively.
The head of his security should simply say "oh fucking hell's no" and that'd be it. This plane could be sabotaged in a million damn near impossible to detect ways. It could be bugged in a million undetectable ways, it's a security nightmare.
If he'd still wanted a flying palace, it'd be way, way cheaper to build one from scratch and be safe and trustworthy than to test, check, and retrofit this one.
His head of secut should be able to override his decisions when it comes to his safety
Then again, this is Cheetos USA now, so I'd say please go for it. Let quatar spy and learn all the US's secrets and then when they're done with the useful idiot, let them execute him by crashing his plane remotely. The world, the US, it'll all be a better place without him and he'll be doing exactly what he wants, he's just too dumb to keep himself alive
My first thought was “either Hollywood lied to me (SHOCKING) or the current 747 has a series of defenses, flares, electronic countermeasures, and what not that this new plane doesn’t have”.
The only thing Hollywood and the video game industry seems to have lied to us about is the presence of an escape pod lol. Everything else is probably mostly correct or even understated.
Hope it crashes
This whole story is just more "flood the zone" bullshit. They know this is a bad idea and that it won't work or won't work in time; they just want to manufacture another distraction that the opposition will lose its shit over.
Trumps heard "free" and "jet" so he said yes. No complex thoughts will ever enter his mind about this transaction. He gets a jet and that is all that matters to him.
I agree 100. When Trump acts this way everyone thinks he's playing 5d chess. No. It is a grown manchild wanting a sky palace and doesn't care that his mommy is telling him no. He just wants it. Meanwhile nobody can imagine that anyone would rationally act this way so it must be part of some plan. When you just take Trump and musk and all these aassholes for what they do and say you won't need to come up with excuses. Yes. We really did vote this guy in.
What if the Qataris or Russia install a kill switch? Every time the president flies, it’s by the good grace of some foreign overlord. All that to fly in a plane that looks like some kitsch hotel…
That was my first thought.... please have a kill switch! A hypersensitive one.
Remember the button they had to keep pressing in LOST? That.
I don’t care. If the plane falls out of the sky, will that really affect me?
It’s not like this administration cares about secret information anyway. Hegseth
Doesn't that make it a perfect fit for Trump?
Exactly, he's already a walking security disaster.
Not only that - and the fact that it's not a free gift at all, since it'll absolutely come with strings attached and it'll cost millions upon millions of taxpayer money to retrofit Trump's personal Airforce 1 - but Trump also stated:
No, Donnie. Not "we". Other administrations, and indirectly taxpayers give "free" things out, and not even then, because even foreign aid is a form of securing power and influence abroad - an investment, to speak in your corporate terms. You do not give anything for free, being the so-called "transactional President" you are so proud to be - there's only grift, free lux planes, free weekly golf trips to Trump courses and tax cuts for your class when you're the one in the Oval Office. Like you love to claim that "We aid Ukraine", when the previous administration was the only one to actually help, while as soon as you took office you started undermining and weakening Ukraine's position in the war.
You mean "The US gives out while I cut all forms of aid and reinforce corruption, but I get to benefit from it more than anyone else." FTFY. Imagine Obama or Biden, who certainly did not grift even nearly at your level, and at least did their jobs even if imperfectly, going "We give things out, so we'll get some as well", as they accepted millions-worthy gifts for their personal use during and after their terms.
Not american, btw, but I know the way I wrote might lead some to that conclusion. Not my intent to lead anyone to wrong assumptions.
He'd be 'stupid' not to take it, though. :|
I have made this point before, the main problem with the current VC-25As and the comming VC-25Bs is that neither will have the dumb Trump livery that he perposed.
Good. Idiot.
Sure. But AF1 is also supposed to be able to survive a nuclear steike/EMP.
So the article says. What of it?
I didn't need an article to tell me this feature was needed. I studied the plane for.some other government work.
To accomplish the level electeonic system shielding needs to be purpose built. I doubt you can retrofit an existing plane and achieve the desired protections. So in essence the US would need to rebuild the plane feom.scratch which is insanely wasteful.
The current Air Force One uses fossil fuels. That's a huge issue.
And this one doesn't? I don't know of a plane they doesn't use fossil fuels.
Yes. I was responding to the quote in the article that said they didn't know what was wrong with AF1
It contributes to the climate catastrophe. We need to dismantle all these GHG emitting infrastructure.