Ashaninka Indigenous children prepare for a bow and arrow competition during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
But security is the primary concern when it comes to presidential travel. The current Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War. They are hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and include a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room. They are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.A former U.S. official briefed on the Air Force One replacement project said that while it would be possible to add some features to the Qatari jet, there was no way to add the full suite of capabilities to the plane on a tight timetable.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive program, said it would be a risk for presidents to fly on such a jet.One of the most important features of Air Force One is the communications capabilities. Presidents can use the plane as a flying Situation Room, allowing them to respond to crises anywhere on the globe.However, on Sept. 11, 2001, Republican President
was frustrated by communications issues and ordered up massive technology upgrades over subsequent years to improve the president’s ability to monitor events and communicate with people around the world.The new ones under development by Boeing are being stripped down so workers can replace the standard wiring with shielded cabling. They’re also modifying the jet with an array of classified security measures and communications capabilities.
Because of the high standards for ensuring a president can communicate clearly and securely, there are fears that Trump would be compromising safety by rushing to modify the Qatari jet.
“Disassembling and evaluating the plane for collection/spy devices will take years,” William Evanina, who served as director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center during Trump’s first term, wrote on social media.Swiss aviation pioneer Bertrand Piccard, center, Raphael Dinelli, left, Climate Impulse engineer and co-pilot, and project manager Cyril Haenel speak in front of the wings of the Climate Impulse, a plane powered by liquid hydrogen, at the press presentation of the project in a hangar in Les Sables d’Olonne, France on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Yohan Bonnet)
The controlled release of liquid hydrogen from ultra-insulated tanks under the airplane’s wings produces energy that seeps into the membrane of a fuel cell that powers the plane.“The plane has the wingspan of an Airbus 320: 34 meters (about 110 feet). It weighs 5-1/2 tons and it flies at 180 kilometers per hour — that means 100 knots at 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) altitude,” Piccard said Thursday.
One aim is to draw on energy from the “turbulence section” of the atmosphere, which airlines could also use one day to help save fuel, he said.Because it’s hydrogen, the only emissions will be water vapor. Still, outside experts caution that the environmental impact of such water-vapor “contrails” remains unknown in a real-world or large-scale scenario.