Decoy Air Force One Protected by Fighter Jets During President Trump’s Flight

On Wednesday, a senior Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News that the “decoy” Air Force One, which President Donald Trump departed from, was safeguarded by U.S. fighter jets on its journey to the United Kingdom. This information counters media concerns about potential vulnerability faced by the press corps and staff due to alleged threats against Trump’s flight from Ankara, Turkey, last month.

The undisclosed security measure heightened the precautions around President Trump’s plane swap, with the original aircraft continuing to the U.K. without him. Joining the press corps on the “decoy” plane were Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who knew President Trump was not aboard.

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A photo shows the press boarding Air Force One in Ankara, with a catering truck positioned at the plane’s front. Instructions were given to staff and the traveling press pool to keep window shades closed throughout the flight, obstructing their view of the fighter escort.

The pool report, distributed on Tuesday, noted little evidence of unusual activity at the airport. Press vans were placed toward the back of the motorcade, limiting photographers’ view of Trump’s plane boarding.

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President Trump boarded the newly gifted Qatari Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, Britain, following a NATO summit in Turkey on July 8, 2026. Once onboard, the press was instructed to keep shades down. A Secret Service agent reinforced this directive, according to the pool report. When a photographer briefly opened a shade, prompt instructions were given to close it again.

A White House press wrangler explained that window closure was requested by the Secret Service. President Trump revealed on Tuesday night that his security detail and military advised the aircraft switch.

“They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety — but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” Trump stated after visiting Geneva, Ohio, for the Freedom 250 Patriot Games.

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Trump commented that the plane he eventually traveled on might have encountered greater risk post-swap. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for,” he remarked to reporters on the tarmac Tuesday night.

The State Department refrained from commenting on the fighter jets. Fox News’ Nicholas Kalman contributed to this article. Peter Doocy is currently the rotating anchor of The Sunday Briefing alongside Jacqui Heinrich and serves as senior White House correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC).