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WASHINGTON — <\/span>President Donald Trump<\/a> flew partway home from a NATO summit in Turkey<\/a> on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet<\/a> he arrived in, a surprise swap that came as the U.S. and Iran once again began trading strikes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump offered little clarity on the swap, instead saying he would fly on the legacy aircraft \u201cfor old time\u2019s sake,\u201d and indicating that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the United States at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by U.S. troops.<\/p>\n The travel switch raised fresh security questions about the new aircraft that the U.S. spent $400 million to retrofit.<\/a> Images of the Qatari-gifted jet captured since its unveiling show<\/a> it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets. <\/p>\n Trump boarded the new jet at Mildenhall, and it promptly took off for Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after he greeted service members stationed there. <\/p>\n \u201cWe just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base\u2019s request,\u201d the Republican president said on social media. \u201cThey were very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n He said stopping at Mildenhall \u201cwas on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.\u201d<\/p>\n During the flight, Trump denied to the reporters accompanying him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in flying two planes home. Asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump brushed off the question.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a threat all the time. I\u2019m No. 1 on their list,\u201d he said, repeating comments from earlier Wednesday that he is one of Iran\u2019s top assassination targets.<\/p>\n When the reporters asked Trump if he knew why they were asked to keep their window blinds closed during the flight from Turkey to the U.K. aboard the older Air Force One, Trump replied that it probably was due to the \u201csleazebags over here\u201d \u2014 an apparent reference to Iran. He said he was not asked to close the window blinds in his compartment. Iran and Turkey share a border.<\/p>\n The swap was also announced less than a day after the U.S. military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran<\/a> in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region, and before a new series of strikes on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Trump first announced in a social media post that the gleaming new plane<\/a> he had proudly shown off a day earlier would instead visit the U.K. base on the way home so military members could \u201ctour the Aircraft.\u201d Trump said he instead would be flying home in an older plane previously used as Air Force One.<\/p>\n When asked later during a news conference if security concerns had played a role in the switch, Trump didn\u2019t directly answer but said that when it came to Iran, he was \u201cNo. 1 on the list for killing.\u201d<\/p>\n When another reporter followed up, Trump said he\u2019d be \u201cgoing home by normal methods\u201d while the new plane would be shown off to troops.<\/p>\n When asked if the missing countermeasures systems played a role in the jet being swapped out, the U.S. Air Force directed questions to the White House. <\/p>\n \u201cThe new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal \u2014 including distraction and misdirection \u2014 to address those threats.\u201d <\/p>\n Trump departed Turkey aboard one of the older Boeing VC-25As that have carried presidents for 3 1\/2 decades. Consumer flight trackers were unable to monitor its transponder early in the flight after takeoff, suggesting it had been temporarily disabled by the crew — a security measure used when ferrying the president to and from high-risk environments like war zones, not a major NATO ally hosting a long-scheduled summit.<\/p>\n Other world leaders\u2019 flights departed with trackable transponders, including those from Germany and the U.K.<\/p>\n The luxurious Boeing 747-800<\/a> gifted by Qatar, that was modified to carry Trump, departed earlier Wednesday from Turkey and landed at RAF Mildenhall on Wednesday afternoon, flight trackers showed.<\/p>\n Iran has several missiles and drones in its inventory with enough range to make the roughly 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) flight from its own borders to Turkey, including some of its Shahed drones and Shahab ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n However, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Iran does not possess<\/a> weaponry that would be capable of effectively striking England at a range of roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).<\/p>\n The U.S. Air Force, which oversees the running of the fleet of aircraft used by every president, had previously said that they had to prioritize making only some of the necessary upgrades and changes in order to deliver the Qatari jet \u2014 also known as the \u201cbridge\u201d aircraft \u2014 into service.<\/p>\n The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done \u201cwithout accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications,\u201d but did concede that \u201cseveral highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, previously told The Associated Press that the absence of countermeasure systems, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet was better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.<\/p>\n