US President Donald Trump secretly left Turkey aboard a smaller military aircraft after an Iranian assassination threat prompted an elaborate security operation that used the presidential Air Force One as a decoy during his departure from the NATO summit in Ankara last month.
Trump had publicly boarded the familiar blue-and-white presidential Boeing 747 at Ankara’s airport on July 8, with television cameras and accompanying journalists recording what appeared to be a normal departure. Minutes later, however, he and several aides were moved through the aircraft to a catering truck positioned at a door away from public view.
The hydraulically elevated truck carried the presidential party across the airport to a smaller US Air Force C-32A, a military version of the Boeing 757. Trump then flew aboard that aircraft to RAF Mildenhall in eastern England while the larger Air Force One continued separately, carrying journalists and White House personnel who believed the president remained aboard.
The operation was designed to conceal Trump’s actual location as security officials assessed intelligence pointing to a possible Iranian attempt to attack the president or his aircraft. Reporters travelling on the larger plane were instructed to lower their window shades before departure, adding another layer of secrecy to the movement.
Trump later appeared at Mildenhall, where photographers recorded him alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and US military personnel. He then boarded the newer Boeing 747-8 that Qatar had donated to the United States and continued to Washington.
The disclosure provides a fuller explanation for an aircraft switch that caused confusion when Trump departed Ankara. He had arrived for the July 7-8 NATO summit aboard the refurbished Qatari aircraft but unexpectedly announced that he would begin his return journey on one of the older presidential VC-25A jets.
At the time, Trump said the older aircraft was being used “for old time’s sake” and said the newer jet had travelled ahead to Britain so US service members at Mildenhall could see it. He rejected suggestions that concerns about Iran had dictated the change, although he acknowledged that Tehran viewed him as an assassination target.
The covert transfer shows security preparations went considerably further than publicly disclosed. US forces were carrying out major strikes against targets in Iran while Trump was attending the summit, raising concerns that Tehran or forces aligned with it could attempt retaliation.
The C-32A used during the concealed leg is operated by the Air Force’s 89th Airlift Wing and is designed to transport senior government leaders. The aircraft can carry about 45 passengers and has an unrefuelled range of roughly 5,500 nautical miles. Its smaller profile offered planners an alternative to the highly recognisable presidential Boeing 747.
Questions surrounding the Qatari aircraft have intensified because it does not carry all the specialised defensive features incorporated into the purpose-built VC-25A fleet. The older presidential aircraft are equipped with missile countermeasures, secure communications and systems intended to allow the president to continue directing the government during an emergency.
Trump later acknowledged that the donated Boeing 747-8 did not possess every defensive capability fitted to the traditional Air Force One fleet and said further upgrades would be undertaken. The aircraft, valued at close to $400 million before modification, was introduced as an interim presidential transport while Boeing completes two permanent replacements for the ageing VC-25As.
The Air Force has maintained that the conversion of the Qatari aircraft did not compromise presidential security, safety or secure communications. It has also acknowledged that some highly complex modifications planned for the future presidential aircraft were excluded from the interim jet so it could enter service more quickly.
The White House has not directly disputed the account of the clandestine Turkey operation. Communications director Steven Cheung said authorities use available measures, including misdirection, when confronting threats against the president. The Secret Service has declined to discuss operational details.
The episode has also raised questions about transparency surrounding presidential movements. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional investigation, arguing that lawmakers should understand the circumstances that led security officials to conceal Trump’s location from much of his travelling party.
Presidential security operations routinely withhold sensitive travel information, particularly during visits to conflict zones. The Ankara manoeuvre was unusual because it occurred after a scheduled NATO summit in a major alliance country and involved deliberately maintaining the appearance that the president remained aboard another aircraft.
