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U.S. President Donald Trump said he would visit Türkiye soon while introducing the new Air Force One at a ceremony held at Joint Base Andrews, signaling that he would attend the NATO summit scheduled to take place in Ankara in July.
“We will travel a lot with this,” Trump said, referring to the new presidential aircraft. “We will also go to Türkiye soon.”
Trump made the remarks during a ceremony for the new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar and placed into service as the presidential aircraft after extensive modernization work.
Speaking at the event, Trump said the new aircraft would be used for many international visits.
“We will also go to Türkiye. We will go to China again within the year. President Xi Jinping will come here in September. Then we will go there again for a major conference in China,” Trump said.
Trump described the new Boeing 747 as “the world’s most luxurious aircraft,” saying it has unmatched communications systems and advanced defense equipment.
He said the aircraft was transformed into a “flying White House” in a short period of 10 months.
Trump thanked about 250 people who worked on the project.
The president also said the new Air Force One would lead a major air show in Washington during celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
He said many fighter jets would accompany the aircraft during the event.
Trump said the return flight from the G7 summit in France was the last planned flight on the current VC-25A-type Air Force One, which has been in use for about 35 years.
He said former presidential aircraft would be restored and displayed in museums.
Trump described the planes as an important part of U.S. presidential history.
The foundations of the current Air Force One fleet were laid during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
The VC-25A-type Boeing 747-200B aircraft first entered service during the administration of George H.W. Bush and have served all U.S. presidents since then.
According to information provided by Trump, the current Air Force One fleet consists of two identical aircraft.
During their service, the planes were used for 223 international trips to 96 countries and flew more than 6 million miles in total.
After carrying presidents for nearly 35 years, the aircraft are being retired because of their age.
They are being replaced by the extensively renewed Boeing 747-type new Air Force One.
The new aircraft was brought into service following work carried out on an accelerated schedule by the Pentagon and contractor L3Harris.
The aircraft was prepared for presidential duties at the request of the Trump administration.
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