President Donald Trump was quietly moved from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft during last month’s NATO summit in Turkey, in what US media describe as an elaborate security ruse triggered by a credible Iranian threat. The covert manoeuvre, carried out in full view of cameras yet hidden from journalists on board, is now raising fresh questions about presidential security protocols and the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
According to the Washington Post, Trump boarded the old Air Force One at Ankara airport on 8 July, waving to cameras as he climbed the steps. But on the far side of the aircraft out of sight from the press an elevated catering truck was positioned at door level. Inside that truck, the president was quietly transferred to a C‑32A military jet, a modified Boeing 757 typically used by the vice‑president. Journalists and some White House staff, already seated on Air Force One, were unaware he had been smuggled out.
US officials told CBS News that intelligence agencies had detected a credible Iranian plan to fire a missile at the presidential aircraft. The White House has not confirmed the switch, though Trump had earlier declared he was Iran’s “number one target” during the Ankara summit. The secret operation took place just one day after the US resumed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown in negotiations to end the war.
Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747‑8 donated by Qatar, but insisted he would depart on the older Air Force One “for old time’s sake.” Footage from the airport shows him boarding the jet as usual while, according to the Post, a second catering truck and strict instructions to keep window shades closed helped conceal the deception from the travelling press corps.
A pool producer later noted unusual details: two catering trucks positioned at both ends of the plane, Secret Service requests to keep shades down, and a motorcade arrangement that prevented journalists from photographing Trump’s boarding. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C‑32A separately to maintain the illusion of a routine departure.
The president rejoined Air Force One only after landing in the UK, completing a covert mid‑journey aircraft swap designed to outsmart a potential missile threat one of the most dramatic security manoeuvres of his presidency.
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