It has been confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump switched between two different presidential aircraft on his way home after attending the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

President Trump departed Ankara at 8:43 p.m. local time yesterday (July 8) aboard the older Air Force One.

He arrived at the Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom at 10:16 p.m., where he transferred to the new Air Force One—which had been waiting there—at 11:01 p.m. before heading to the White House.

The new Air Force One is a Boeing 747-8 model gifted by Qatar last year, with the aircraft alone valued at 400 million dollars, or approximately 610 billion won.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President: "I asked the Emir (of Qatar). I asked if we could use his new 747. I said I wanted to use it for a bit. Our planes are too old."]

Questions have been raised as to why President Trump, who has frequently praised the new Air Force One, did not board the aircraft from the beginning of his journey home.

Some speculated that Trump may have switched planes midway for security reasons, fearing he could be a target for assassination by Iran.

During a press conference in Ankara that day, President Trump remarked, "As you know, the life of a president is very dangerous," adding, "I am number one on Iran's assassination list."

He further explained, "It was also to have Air Force One stop at a U.S. military base in the U.K. so I could see the troops."

In response, The New York Times (NYT) reported that President Trump initially used the older Air Force One at the request of the Secret Service as a precautionary security measure regarding the resumption of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.

Analysts suggest that because it typically takes a significant amount of time to equip Air Force One with specialized gear, such as missile defense systems, the new aircraft gifted by Qatar may have begun operations without sufficient security upgrades due to the rushed conversion process. This lack of preparation may have been the underlying issue.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Soo-min | Produced by SBS Digital News