President Trump announced Wednesday that the new $400 million Air Force One, donated by Qatar, will not be flown directly from Turkey to Washington. Instead, the aircraft will be sent to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom for American troops to tour.
"To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft — Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first," Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
He added, "For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is totally worth doing in order to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!"
The decision comes as the war in Iran has resumed. Smoke was seen rising from explosions at an undisclosed location following strikes on Iran, which the U.S. Central Command stated were in response to an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. This recent development in the conflict has led to speculation that the new Air Force One might be more vulnerable to enemy fire than the older aircraft it is set to replace.