The Aerodrome: Boeing VC-25B Bridge. A shameful flying monument.: This blog was never intended to be political, but in the age of Donald Trump, which will go down as the most corrupt political era in U.S. h...
So Trump went to the NATO summit in Turkey and, at some point, it dawned on somebody that this meant he was a stone's throw from Iran. . . and that maybe Air Force One made for a good target.
Frankly, the war in Iran has been very surprising in numerous ways, including htat much of what had always been predicted about such a war just did not occur, at least so far. For instance, it had always been assumed that Iran would activate sleeper cells in the US if a war occured. Right now, given that nothing occurred, we have to assume that Iran either has remarkable restraint, or it doesn't have sleeper cells Nothing has happened.
Closing the Strait of Hormuz should have been no surprise at all, but what has been a surprise is Iran's resilience to attack. People thinking that defeating Iran would be easy were always completely delusional, and indeed it won't happen unless the US commits troops the ground in very large numbers, but country's ability to just shrug off repeated attacks is really impressive. It's engaged in some major missile offensives during the war and even now has only used a faction of what it has. Early beliefs that all its launchers were taken out proved to be completely erroneous.
Anyhow, while Trump was embarrassing the United States in Turkey the negotiations, such as they were, between Trump's son in law and the equally unqualified former lawyer and real estate figure that Trump has charged with this matter, fell apart. J. D. Vance, occasionally saddled with trying to get the ink dry on some settlement, isn't working on it and is instead touring around the country making stupid statements in from of the Screw American Voters Act. Trump used the opportunity, in addition to insulting Spain, to insult the Iranians, who were already pretty much ignoring him.
The it dawned on somebody that the new Qatari Royal Coach lacks electronic countermeasures, unlike the other jets in the Air Force One stable.
Oops.
Given that, one of the old Presidential buses was flown over to haul Trump around and the new one was flown to RAF Mildenhall on the excuse that the airmen might want to see it.
Yeah, a big airplane. What a treat for airmen.
The real reason, of course, was that it dawned on somebody that given as the plane has no countermeasures if the Iranians took a shot at it, only luck and fancy maneuvers, maybe, would keep the giant plane in the air. And as Donald Trump murdered the head of the Iranian state, worrying that the Iranians would figure that turn about was fair play isn't irrational. For that matter, even if the Iranian state might not attempt that, there's plenty of irregular forces in the region that might not particularly love Donald.
So, the US has sunk $400,000,000 into this dubious gift and it isn't as capable as the older aircraft.
As earlier reported here, when Trump vacates the Oval Office, which he has no legal right to be in already, the new Air Force One is supposed to be going to a Trump Presidential Library. What a joke. And an expensive one on the American taxpayer.
Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution states:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Congress has so suspended its duties that getting anyone to enforce this clause seems like a lost cause right now, but maybe in a future presidency somebody will dust the document off, walk down to Congress, dope slap the whole body until the current deadwood leaves (John Barrasso, looking at you) and people who actually will do their job reappear. Should that occur, this airplane should not leave the Air Force inventory. But what to do with it is another question. $400,000,000 have been spent on it.
There are already two new Air Force One's being built. Those ones will be properly equipped. The existing Air Force Ones already are. Hopefully not another dime is spent on this one.
But that, frankly, puts it in the domestic hauler category. I suppose it could be used for that, save for the fact that it's a national embarrassment.
Given that, my prediction is that it will be junked. I don't think it'll ever go to a Trump presidential library, assuming one is every built Trump's already 80 years old and every morning when he wakes up the Grim Reaper is there asking how he's feeling. It won't be used by a future President, and it's not going to be used by the Air Force for anything.
It's just a waste.
Boneyard of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
It'll go to top men. Top men.
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