Trump’s secret plane swap revealed amid Iran threat

According to a US media report, Donald Trump pulled a plane swap as he left a Nato summit in Turkey last month as part of a complex deception to counter a possible Iranian threat. The US president boarded Air Force One in the spotlight before being transported to a military aircraft with the assistance of a catering truck.

Meanwhile, journalists and some White House staff on board were unaware that he had been exfiltrated. Officials said that the US had detected a plausible Iranian threat of a missile strike against the plane. Earlier, Trump said that Iran was “number one target” during the summit in Ankara.

Trump had reportedly arrived in Turkey across a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar but declared his departure on the old Air Force One “for old time’s sake.”

Footage released on July 9 indicated that Trump boarded the presidential jet at Ankara airport before being secretly taken to a smallest C-32A military aircraft-a Boeing 757 often used by the vice-president Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A through an independent exterior entrance in a crucial effort to make the flight appear normal.

Journalists and some White House staff boarded Air Force One and were allegedly ordered to shut down their window shades.

During the flight, Trump spoke to reporters on board where he acknowledged the threats posed by Iran but did not mention the previous plane substitution. Reporters had been asked to lower the window on the plane from Turkey, Trump remarked, “Because you are probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with.”

The New York Times previously highlighted security risks regarding the Qatari-gifted jet, noting that the Secret Service had prompted Trump to change planes on his way back from the NATO summit.

Furthermore, the US has spent months-long upgrading the $400 million Boeing 747-8 to prepare it for the president; however older Air Force One planes have laser technology to blind incoming missiles.