presidentDonald TrumpHe really wants to fly on Air Force One – but achieving this can depend on whether it is ready to cut the corners with safety.
As government lawyers, they classify the legal arrangement ofAccept a luxurious planeFrom the Qatari royal family, another decisive conversation is revealed about modifying the plane to be safe for the American president.
Certainly, the installation of equivalent capabilities of 747s is now used as one air forces.Delay and exceeding costs.
The Minister of Air Force Troiki Munic on Thursday told these security amendments to cost less than 400 million dollars, but there were no details.
However, satisfying Trump’s desire to use the new plane before the end of his term may require leaving some of these precautions.
A White House official said Trump wanted the Qatari plane ready as soon as possible while adhering to security standards. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not provide details about equipment or schedule problems.
Trump hasThey survived two assassination attemptsAndIran’s claim alsoTo kill him, so he is well aware of the danger he faces. However, it seems ready to take some opportunities with security, especially when it comes to communications. For example, he loves to keep his personal phone within his reach despite the threat of breakthroughs.
You boasted this weekThe government got the plane“Free,” saying: “We need it as air forces until the Air Force is completed.”
Below is a look at what it takes to make the Qatari plane in a presidential transfer:
What makes a plane worth being one air force?
Air Force One is the sign of any plane bearing the president. The first plane to obtain this classification was the C-54 Skyster, which operated in the fan, which transferred Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta conference in 1945. It appeared in a conference room with a bulletproofing window.
Things are more complicated these days. Boeing spent years stripping and rebuilding two 747 to replace the releases that carried the presidents for more than three decades. The project is scheduled to cost more than $ 5.3 billion and may not end before Trump leaves his post.
Report 2021, through the Freedom of Information Law, defines the requirements that are not classified to replace 747s under construction. At the top of the menu – the ability to survive and communications.
Deborah Lee James, who was the Minister of Air Force at the time, said the government has decided for more than a decade that the new aircraft had to have four engines so that they could stay by air if one or two failed. This creates a challenge because 747s is no longer manufactured, which may make spare parts more difficult.
Air Force One must also obtain the highest level of classified communications, anti -mockery and external protection against foreign monitoring, so that the president can safely lead military forces and nuclear weapons through a national emergency. It is a very sensitive and complex system, including video, sound and data transfers.
James said that there are anti -medal and shield measures against radiation or electromagnetic pulse, which could be caused by a nuclear explosion.
“The important point is that he remains on a journey regardless of what,” she said.
Does Trump want all security bells and marshes?
If the Qatari plane is modified to the presidential standards, it may cost $ 1.5 billion and takes years, according to an American official, provided that his identity is not disclosed to provide details that are not available to the public.
I witnessed it in front of Congress this week, Meink has deduced such estimates, on the pretext that some costs related to the re -modernization of the Qatari plane had been spent in any case with the air force move to build long new presidential aircraft, including buying aircraft for training and providing deficit if necessary.
In response, Representative Joe Courtney, D-Conn said. It is based on the costs of the contract for the aircraft by the Air Force, which will cost about one billion dollars to strip the Qatari plane, install encrypted communications, harden its defenses and make other promotions required.
James said that restoring the wires simply means “you should break this entire matter open and start from zero.”
Trump, as a general leader, can give up some of these requirements. It can decide to overcome the driving systems of an electromagnetic pulse, leaving its connections more at risk in the event of a disaster but a haircut outside the project.
After all, Boeing has already expanded its original plans for the new 747s. Its range was cut by 1200 nautical miles, and the ability to refuel during the air port.
Paul Ecalov, the former leader of protection details at the Secret Service, expects the president to obtain the final statement.
“The secret service function is to plan and reduce risks,” he said. “You can never eliminate it.”
If Trump waives some of the requirements, James said that he should stay under the winding because “you do not want to announce your potential opponents what the weaknesses of this new aircraft may be.”
Trump is unlikely to change the appearance of the plane. He maintains a model in favor of Air Air One in the Oval Office, with a darker color system that repeats his personal plane instead of the light blue design that has been used for decades.
What happens after that?
Trump toured the Qatari plane in February when it was parked at an airport near Mar Lago, his resort in Florida. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General David, was also there.
The US official said the plane needs maintenance, but not more than expected from a four -engines of its complexity.
Senator Tami Dackeret, a Democrat in Illinois at the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that it would be irresponsible to put the president’s equipment and national security security on the Qatari plane “without knowing that the plane is fully able to face a nuclear attack.”
“It is a waste of taxpayers dollars,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Boeing Project has been disabled due to corrosion cracks on aircraft and excessive noise in cabins from the pressure cancellation system, among other issues that have been delayed, according to the government accounting office report issued last year.
Boeing referred questions to the Air Force, who said in a statement that it was working with the aircraft manufacturer to find ways to accelerate at least one of the 747s.
However, the plane should be tested and transported in realistic conditions to ensure that there are no other problems.
James said that it remains to see how Trump deals with any of these challenges.
She said: “The normal course of business may say that there may be delay in certificates.” “But it seems that things are waived these days when the president wants it.”
This story was originally shown on Fortune.com
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