Qatar’s $400m Jet For Trump Is A Gold Plated Security Nightmare

The Trump administration is set to accept a $400 million luxury 747-8 from the royal family of Qatar – a lavish “palace in the sky” meant as a temporary Air Force One. But getting it up to presidential security standards could take years and cost hundreds of millions more.

Technically, any US Air Force aircraft carrying the president is designated “Air Force One” by air traffic control. Biden even took a train informally dubbed “Rail Force One.” For long-haul flights, presidents have relied on one of two VC-25As – heavily modified Boeing 747-200Bs – since 1990.

In 2018, Boeing signed a $3.9 billion deal to build two replacements, but missed last year’s deadline – now, the goal is delivery by 2027, although the White House thinks they might not appear until 2029.

Maybe if they gave it a gold makeover, he’d like it more

Trump told reporters it would be “stupid” not to accept Qatar’s gesture. The plane is expected to be used as a temporary Air Force One, with ownership transferring to his presidential library foundation after his term — an highly unusual arrangement already raising legal and ethical questions about accepting such a valuable gift from a foreign power.

Equally alarming, security experts warn that retrofitting a foreign-owned aircraft to meet presidential standards would be massively expensive, time-consuming, and potentially disruptive to the already-behind Boeing replacement program.

What Makes Air Force One, Air Force One

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.

The hull is known to be armored, at least, 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.

Internal security could be just as bad – or worse

There’s a well-documented history of foreign adversaries embedding surveillance devices into physical infrastructure. In 1985, the US was forced to halt construction [PDF] of its new embassy in the Soviet Union when they discovered that enough bugs had been built into the walls that the building was hopelessly compromised. Building supports had been turned into aerials to transmit signals back to the Soviets, and the building ended up being partially torn down and then rebuilt.

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

The same would be perfectly possible in an aircraft. While small hidden bugs could collect data and broadcast that info over a relatively short range using a similarly compact antenna, if one were able to hide a longer aerial within the craft, a greater radio transmission range could be achieved. A surreptitious satellite link, using a suitably small antenna, would be ideal.

“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,” Richard Aboulafia, managing director of aircraft consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, told The Register.

All the luxury seating, wall coverings, electronics and furniture would have to be removed and checked for audio or video bugs and tracking systems. It’s unlikely the old furniture would even be allowed back on board.

Then the wiring and computer systems would have to be checked for physical taps as well as software security. As any pentester knows, it’s impossible to know if any existing code is 100 percent safe, so it would be much more secure simply to rip and replace any computers and put them in the Air Force’s own.

All this work isn’t going to be cheap or easy. And based on the snail’s pace of building the Boeing replacement, it’s going to take years to fix an outsider’s aircraft and convert it.

It makes no sense on any level, except that he wants a free 747 for himself

“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.”

To navigate US restrictions on foreign gifts, the aircraft is reportedly being donated to the government for use during Trump’s term, with ownership set to transfer to his presidential library foundation afterward. That means even if it were flight-ready and specced to Air Force One standards today, he’d get about three years and seven months of use out of it. As boondoggles go, it’s a beauty – and it’s certainly a glitzier ride than his 34-years-old Boeing 757, which he bought in 2011 from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

But from a safety and economic perspective (for the country at least), Trump would be better off sticking to the current VC-25 model until the new Air Force Ones can be built. He’ll still get to keep his luxury 747 “gift” when his term ends, and he’ll be a lot safer, in both senses of the word, in a properly equipped jet.

“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.” ®

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