What led Donald Trump to change planes after leaving NATO summit in Turkey? Here, find out why

US President Donald Trump made an unexpected decision while returning from the NATO summit in Turkey's Ankara, drawing global attention and triggering speculation over presidential security. Although Trump flew to Turkey aboard the newly acquired Boeing 747-8 aircraft gifted by Qatar, he chose not to use the same plane for his return journey. Instead, the US President travelled back to America on the older Boeing VC-25A Air Force One, while the newer aircraft was flown separately to the Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall Air Base in the United Kingdom. The move has raised questions over the security capabilities of the new aircraft and the precautions being taken to protect the US President.

Trump did not provide a detailed explanation when asked why he changed planes for the return journey. He wanted to go back home on the older Air Force One “for old times’ sake." He also said the new aircraft would be sent to RAF Mildenhall to be inspected and familiarised by US military personnel stationed there.

The aircraft swap came just weeks after the U.S. launched major military strikes against Iran in response to alleged Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. That escalation significantly ratcheted up tensions between Washington and Tehran. Since Iran shares a border with Turkey, security experts say the US President would have been expected to take additional precautions in such a situation.

Trump did not cite security concerns as the reason for the change but acknowledged the risk saying, “I am going home the normal way” when reporters asked if the new aircraft did not have certain security systems. The new aircraft will be shown to US troops in Britain.

Aviation experts say the Boeing 747-8 received from Qatar does not yet have all the specialized security features that the current Air Force One fleet has. Photographs available in the public domain suggest that some advanced missile detection and missile defence systems are still missing on the aircraft. These observations have fueled debate on the aircraft’s readiness to ferry the US President amid elevated military tensions.

But White House spokesperson Steven Cheung defended the aircraft, saying it has advanced security protocols in place to ensure the safety of the President and his staff. The President has previously said he is a target of many enemies of the United States. Therefore, security agencies are using all means, including deception and diversion techniques, to protect him," Cheung added.

Another detail that caught the attention of aviation observers was that the older Air Force One briefly ceased to transmit its transponder signal in the initial phase of the flight. Aircraft can send their location in real time to civilian flight tracking services using a transponder. Such signals are rarely turned off, only normally turned off during very sensitive operations, or when there are exceptional security issues regarding the U.S. President.

The incident was made more unusual because Trump was returning from the NATO summit in Turkey, not from a war zone. At the same time the planes carrying leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom and other participating countries kept broadcasting their live positions during flight as usual.

Iran has an arsenal of drones and ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets as far away as some 1,300 kilometres. These include the Shahed drone series and Shahab ballistic missiles which can reach parts of Turkey in their strike envelope.

But, says the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Iran cannot hit England effectively, which is about 4,000 kilometres away. This may explain why the new aircraft flew to the UK separately.

The US Air Force has already stated that the Qatar-gifted aircraft only had the necessary modifications done to get it up and running quickly.Some of the complex engineering upgrades will be deferred to a later stage, officials said. The Air Force has said it has not sacrificed flight safety, secure communications or operational reliability but acknowledged some of the sophisticated technologies found on the current Air Force One fleet have not yet been installed on this interim aircraft.

The existing VC-25A Air Force One planes were constructed in the waning years of the Cold War, with a focus on the survival of the President in dire situations.

Some of their key capabilities include:

The U.S. Air Force is designing two new next-generation Air Force One planes. But the programme has suffered delays and the new fleet is not now expected to enter service until 2028.