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WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump truly wants to alert connected an upgraded Air Force One — but making that hap could beryllium connected whether he’s consenting to chopped corners with security.
As authorities lawyers benignant retired the ineligible statement for accepting a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family, different important speech is unfolding astir modifying the level truthful it's harmless for the American president.
Installing capabilities equivalent to the decades-old 747s present utilized arsenic Air Force One would astir surely consign the task to a akin destiny arsenic Boeing's replacement initiative, which has been plagued by delays and outgo overruns.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told lawmakers Thursday that those information modifications would outgo little than $400 cardinal but provided nary details.
Satisfying Trump's tendency to usage the caller level earlier the extremity of his word could necessitate leaving retired immoderate of those precautions, however.
A White House authoritative said Trump wants the Qatari pitchy acceptable arsenic soon arsenic imaginable portion adhering to information standards. The official, who spoke connected the information of anonymity, did not supply details connected instrumentality issues oregon the timeline.
Trump has survived 2 assassination attempts, and Iran allegedly besides plotted to termination him, truthful he’s good alert of the information helium faces. However, helium seems consenting to instrumentality immoderate chances with security, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to communications. For example, helium likes to support his idiosyncratic telephone useful contempt the menace of hacks.
He boasted this week that the authorities got the jet “for free,” saying, “We request it arsenic Air Force One until the different ones are done.”
Here’s a look astatine what it would instrumentality to marque the Qatari level into a statesmanlike transport:
Air Force One is the telephone motion for immoderate level that's carrying the president. The archetypal craft to get the designation was a propeller-powered C-54 Skymaster, which ferried Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference successful 1945. It featured a league country with a bulletproof window.
Things are a batch much analyzable these days. Boeing has spent years stripping down and rebuilding 2 747s to regenerate the versions that person carried presidents for much than 3 decades. The task is slated to outgo much than $5.3 cardinal and whitethorn not beryllium finished earlier Trump leaves office.
A 2021 study made nationalist done the Freedom of Information Act outlines the unclassified requirements for the replacement 747s nether construction. At the apical of the database — survivability and communications.
The authorities decided much than a decennary agone that the caller planes had to person 4 engines truthful they could stay airborne if 1 oregon 2 fail, said Deborah Lee James, who was Air Force caput astatine the time. That creates a situation due to the fact that 747s are nary longer manufactured, which could marque spare parts harder to travel by.
Air Force One besides has to person the highest level of classified communications, anti-jamming capabilities and outer protections against overseas surveillance, truthful the president tin securely bid subject forces and atomic weapons during a nationalist emergency. It's an highly delicate and analyzable system, including video, dependable and information transmissions.
James said determination are anti-missile measures and shielding against radiation oregon an electromagnetic pulse that could beryllium caused by a atomic blast.
“The constituent is, it remains successful formation nary substance what,” she said.
If the Qatari level is retrofitted to statesmanlike standards, it could outgo $1.5 cardinal and instrumentality years, according to a U.S. authoritative who spoke connected the information of anonymity to supply details that aren't publically available.
Testifying earlier Congress this week, Meink discounted specified estimates, arguing that immoderate of the costs associated with retrofitting the Qatari level would person been spent anyhow arsenic the Air Force moves to physique the long-delayed caller statesmanlike planes, including buying craft for grooming and to person spares disposable if needed.
In response, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said that based connected the declaration costs for the planes that the Air Force is building, it would outgo astir $1 cardinal to portion down the Qatar plane, instal encrypted communications, harden its defenses and marque different required upgrades.
James said simply redoing the wiring means “you’d person to interruption that full happening wide unfastened and astir commencement from scratch."
Trump, arsenic commandant successful chief, could waive immoderate of these requirements. He could determine to skip shielding systems from an electromagnetic pulse, leaving his communications much susceptible successful lawsuit of a catastrophe but shaving clip disconnected the project.
After all, Boeing has already scaled backmost its archetypal plans for the caller 747s. Their scope was trimmed by 1,200 nautical miles, and the quality to refuel portion airborne was scrapped.
Paul Eckloff, a erstwhile person of extortion details astatine the Secret Service, expects the president would get the last say.
“The Secret Service's occupation is to program for and mitigate risk," helium said. "It tin ne'er destruct it.”
If Trump does waive immoderate requirements, James said that should beryllium kept nether wraps due to the fact that "you don’t privation to advertise to your imaginable adversaries what the vulnerabilities of this caller craft mightiness be.”
It's improbable that Trump volition privation to skimp connected the plane's appearance. He keeps a exemplary of a caller Air Force One successful the Oval Office, implicit with a darker colour strategy that echoes his idiosyncratic pitchy alternatively of the airy bluish plan that's been utilized for decades.
Trump toured the Qatari level successful February erstwhile it was parked astatine an airdrome adjacent Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. Air Force main of unit Gen. David Allvin was there, too.
The U.S. authoritative said the pitchy needs attraction but not much than what would beryllium expected of a four-engine level of its complexity.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat connected the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it would beryllium irresponsible to enactment the president and nationalist information instrumentality aboard the Qatari level “without knowing that the craft is afloat susceptible of withstanding a atomic attack.”
“It’s a discarded of payer dollars,” she said.
Meanwhile, Boeing's task has been hampered by accent corrosion cracks connected the planes and excessive sound successful the cabins from the decompression system, among different issues that person delayed delivery, according to a Government Accountability Office study released past year.
Boeing referred questions to the Air Force, which said successful a connection that it's moving with the craft shaper to find ways to accelerate the transportation of astatine slightest 1 of the 747s.
Even so, the craft volition person to beryllium tested and flown successful real-world conditions to guarantee nary different issues.
James said it remains to beryllium seen however Trump would grip immoderate of those challenges.
“The mean people of concern would accidental determination could beryllium delays successful certifications,” she said. “But things look to get waived these days erstwhile the president wants it.”
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AP writer Lolita C. Baldor successful Washington contributed to this report.
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