President Donald Trump announced that the Boeing 747 he received from Qatar, which recently entered operational readiness, will be grounded in about a month for a comprehensive upgrade. The decision follows a New York Times report in which a journalist noted the aircraft lacks missile defense systems. Trump said the plane would undergo 'all the upgrades' over a period of about a month.
The Zioneer previously reported on the Qatari-donated Boeing 747 entering operational readiness (June 23) and its formal inauguration (July 1). This morning, Channel 12 journalist Asaf Rozenzweig reported, citing a New York Times story, that Trump announced the aircraft will be grounded for a comprehensive upgrade in about a month.
The upgrade addresses a security concern raised by a New York Times journalist who accompanied Trump on a flight from New Jersey. The journalist pointed out that the aircraft lacks missile defense systems. Trump responded that the plane has 'many capabilities' but will be sent for a full upgrade. The process is expected to take about a month.
The grounding comes after the plane was declared operationally ready just weeks ago, and the new announcement indicates the security enhancements were not yet complete. No formal timeline for the upgrade has been provided beyond Trump's estimate of approximately one month.
4 developments
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
- Internal intake