Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
President Donald Trump has left Turkey on an older VC-25A Air Force One jet. The U.S. Air Force’s new VC-25B Bridge aircraft had brought Trump to that country yesterday for the NATO Summit, but left without him on board earlier today. Trump had earlier confirmed that he would head from Turkey to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom on the VC-25A rather than the Bridge aircraft “for old time’s sake.” The Bridge aircraft, a modified, Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8i, flew to Mildenhall first. This is all highly unusual and has prompted questions about whether other factors, specifically changes in operational security, may be at play.
The VC-25A had followed the Bridge aircraft to the Turkish capital, Ankara, yesterday, as a backup. The change in planes follows a new round of U.S. strikes on Iran yesterday, which Trump reportedly ordered directly from the summit. Questions also continue to be raised about the full suite of communications, defensive, and other capabilities on the Bridge aircraft.
POTUS has just departed Turkey on the “Old Air Force” (VC-25A) Speculating if it will meet the new VC-25B Bridge in the UK for a fuel stopover and POTUS will return to Andrews on the VC-25B Bridge. pic.twitter.com/Xm4qOt52uq
“To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One [the VC-25B Bridge aircraft] to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft – Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first,” Trump wrote earlier today on his Truth Social site. “For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is totally worth doing in order to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!”
“To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft…” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Nf2qCGDKUs
While Trump referred to the VC-25As as “former” Air Force One aircraft in his Truth Social post, the Air Force has expressly confirmed to TWZ that they are set to remain in service and in the rotation despite the delivery of the Bridge jet. It’s also worth remembering that any Air Force aircraft that carries the President will use the Air Force One callsign.
RAF Mildenhall is a major hub for U.S. air operations and was heavily utilized to support strikes on Iran earlier this year. The President has also hinted that the Bridge aircraft may make stops elsewhere in Europe before returning home.
The VC-25B Bridge aircraft seen arriving at RAF Mildenhall today. Andrew McKelvey
“It’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases, two or three of the big bases, where we can show it to the people,” Trump also said at a press conference at the NATO summit today in response to a question about his travel plans. “We’ll be going home by normal methods.”
Q: But why aren’t you flying the new plane home?
TRUMP: Uh, it’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases where we can show it to the people. And we’ll be going home by uh normal methods pic.twitter.com/rWXV3bsGla
“We are boarding the old, big plane. No eyes on POTUS / no under wing gaggle.” Politico‘s Megan Messerly, a member of the press pool accompanying Trump, also shared before the VC-25A left Ankara. “We have been advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed. See you on the other side.”
Travel pool note #25 // Wheels up 🛫
We are wheels up from Ankara as of 8:43 p.m. We have been advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed. See you on the other side.
Megan Messerly POLITICO Wed. Jul. 8, 8:44 PM
— White House Press Pool Reports (@WHPressPool) July 8, 2026
Travel pool note #24 // Boarding AF1 ✈️
We arrived to Ankara Esenboga Airport at 8:25 p.m.
We are boarding the old, big plane. No eyes on POTUS / no under wing gaggle.
Megan Messerly POLITICO Wed. Jul. 8, 8:28 PM
— White House Press Pool Reports (@WHPressPool) July 8, 2026
As noted, President Trump traveled to the NATO summit aboard the VC-25B Bridge aircraft and with one of the Air Force’s two existing VC-25As in tow. This was the first time Trump had used the Bridge jet for an overseas trip. The President flew on the aircraft for the first time ever last week for a visit to North Dakota for events marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. A VC-25A was also used as a backup for that trip.
The Boeing VC-25B Bridge, Air Force One, carrying President Donald J. Trump has landed in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of this week’s NATO Summit. pic.twitter.com/Qqea5RihiM
As also mentioned, U.S. forces launched new strikes on Iran yesterday. “President Trump approved and ordered the Iran strikes from the NATO summit” after meeting “with senior U.S. officials in Ankara, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” according to a report from The New York Times, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
The latest U.S. strikes were in response to a new round of Iranian attacks on commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier today, Trump raised the prospect of further action against Iran tonight. This, in turn, has prompted new concerns about the possibility of the resumption of a large-scale conflict between the two countries, as you can read more about in TWZ‘s separate reporting here.
A key requirement for aircraft serving in the Air Force One role is ensuring the President remains securely in contact with top U.S. military leaders, as well as other senior officials, to be able to respond immediately to any serious contingency. This would be particularly important now, given the fluidity of the situation in the Middle East and the prospect of further military action against Iran in the very near term. Key planning efforts and other meetings are likely to be underway.
The new VC-25B Bridge aircraft, at left, and one of the older VC-25As, at right, seen together at Andrews Air Force Base ahead of flyovers over Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2026. USAF
The decision to strike Iran yesterday and the possibility of doing so again today may well have also had impacts on the overall force protection posture around Trump. The regime in Tehran has threatened Trump directly on multiple occasions in the past.
As an aside here, pictures now circulating on social media also show tractor-trailer trucks and tarps apparently being used to at least try to block the view of Mildenhall from a spot outside of the base’s perimeter where plane spotters regularly gather. Spotters have still been able to catch glimpses of the Bridge aircraft.
Defensive countermeasures, in particular, take time and careful work to integrate onto any airframe, let alone a newer type for which there might not be pre-existing procedures. Rigorous testing has to be done after integration to ensure those systems work as intended and do not conflict with other features, physically or in the radiofrequency spectrum. To date, there have been no visible signs of any of the obvious defensive systems installed on the VC-25As present on the VC-25B Bridge aircraft.
U.S. officials and L3Harris have repeatedly downplayed any operational security or other concerns surrounding the newest addition to the Air Force’s executive transport fleet, but questions remain. This has been just one aspect of the criticism and controversy surrounding the jet. The very circumstances surrounding its gifting to the U.S. government were highly irregular, and the justification for needing it at all remains a subject of debate.
Just yesterday, Breaking Defense reported that a group of 13 Democratic Senators, led by Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, had sent a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and L3Harris CEO Chris Kubasik asking for more information to address their ongoing concerns. The legislators contend that the Trump administration has been stonewalling their request so far, according to that story.
Another look at the VC-25B Bridge aircraft as it comes in to land at RAF Mildenhall today. Andrew McKelvey
For its part, Boeing has been working for years now to transform a pair of other 747-8is into fully-equipped VC-25B Air Force One jets. That program has been mired in delays and cost growth, and the first of these two jets is not expected to be delivered until 2029. The Air Force also now has an additional ex-Lufthansa 747-8i that it is using as a trainer for aircrew and ground personnel assigned to support the expanded VC-25 fleet. Another former Lufthansa 747 will be cannibalized for spare parts.
If nothing else, Trump has now flown overseas on the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft, but his trip today underscores that the older VC-25As are very much still available if needed.
Update: 7:02 PM ET –
The VC-25A carrying President Donald Trump has arrived at RAF Mildenhall.
“We 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’s request. They were very excited, picture enclosed,” Trump wrote in another post on Truth Social, which was also shared on other official White House social media accounts. “It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”
One of the U.S. Air Force’s C-32A executive transport aircraft was also spotted arriving at RAF Mildenhall ahead of the VC-25A. The C-32A was later seen being moved from where it had been parked on the apron to make way for Air Force One.
Special thanks to local aviation photographer Andrew McKelvey for sharing his pictures of the VC-25B Bridge aircraft arriving at Mildenhall.
Crime thriller fans are heaping praise on a gripping new BBC series starring Sheridan Smith, as people say it’s the ‘show of the year’ and has some ‘unexpectedly’ funny moments
Sheridan Smith stars in the new BBC series(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC / Element Pictures)
A new BBC crime thriller series could be your next obsession. If you’re looking for a new series to sink your teeth into, then forget about Netflix and Amazon Prime Video – as a new series now available to watch on BBC One and BBCiPlayer has already been touted as one of the best shows of 2026.
The five-part series stars Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, and according to people on social media, it is both gripping and “unexpectedly funny”. With only five episodes, it’s the perfect thing to binge this weekend – especially if you’re looking for a “high-stakes” show with tension and laughter.
TV and film reviewer Emily posted a video on TikTok in which she heaped praise on the new series, called The Cage, stating that fans of crime dramas should “get this one on your watch list” immediately.
She said: “We have a brand-new high-stakes crime thriller that the BBC have just dropped, starring Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha. So if you love a good crime thriller, then definitely get this one on your watch list.”
The Cage is set in a casino in Liverpool, where two casino workers named Leanne (Smith) and Matty (Socha) realise they have both plotted to steal from the same safe.
Emily explained: “It’s all about two employees who are both secretly stealing from the same safe without knowing that the other exists. What starts off as a quick way to make extra money turns into something far more dangerous when their lives collide, pulling them into a situation involving crime, pressure, and people that they really do not want to be involved with. From then on, everything just keeps spiralling.”
The TV reviewer said she hasn’t yet finished the series herself, but she’s already “hooked” after just two episodes.
She continued: “I have watched the first two episodes so far, and I am hooked. It’s really tense, gritty, unpredictable, and you have this constant sense that something could go wrong at any moment, which really raises the stakes. It also really leans into desperation and bad decisions, and how quickly things can spiral, even if you think you have a plan.”
The Cage was created by Tony Schumacher, who also created the BBC police drama The Responder, which starred Martin Freeman as a police officer who has been demoted from his position as an inspector and takes on a series of night shifts in Liverpool city centre.
Alongside Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha, The Cage also stars Barry Sloane, Geraldine James, and Sue Jenkins. The show was directed by Al Mackay and was filmed in Liverpool and Merseyside in early 2025.
Commenters on Emily’s video were split over the series. Some said they had already seen it and found it to be “slow”, while others said it was “unexpectedly” good.
One person said: “Watched it all over the past two nights, really, really good. Would recommend it.”
Someone else posted: “This is really good. Unexpectedly, it was quite funny in parts.”
But another wasn’t convinced, writing: “I’ve watched the first episode, [and] it needs to get better. I will try one more, but if it hasn’t grabbed me, that will be me done.”
A fourth shared: “Watching it now. [It’s] a bit slow.”
