After taking President Trump to Ankara for the NATO summit, the new VC-25B bridge aircraft was called up to RAF Mildenhall to provide deployed US military personnel a unique opportunity to view and tour the aircraft.
The visit was officially confirmed by President Trump on the Truth Social platform, and he also suggested that he and his entourage would travel to Mildenhall aboard the ‘old’ Air Force One. This refers to VC-25A 92-9000 accompanying the VC-25B leg to Ankara as a backup aircraft.
White House staff took to social media to say goodbye to the 92-9000 recently, hours before the VC-25B bridge was officially unveiled. At the time, the planned final flight on Air Force One had been completed. Now we know those plans have changed, and the VC-25A will be in the spotlight at least once more.
“To honor our brave service members, we are sending our new, truly amazing Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base in England, giving them the opportunity to tour the aircraft…” – President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Nf2qCGDKUs
— White House (@WhiteHouse) July 8, 2026
no way
The VC-25B Bridge, based on a Boeing 747-8i, departed Ankara as SAM 33, likely referring to aircraft serial number 25-3300 ahead of Air Force One’s departure this afternoon. President Trump arrived at RAF Mildenhall shortly before 18:30 local time when he boarded flight number 92-9000 from Ankara.
POTUS just left Turkey on the “Old Air Force” (VC-25A). We’re meeting the new VC-25B bridge in England for a fuel stopover and speculating whether POTUS will return to Andrews aboard the VC-25B bridge. pic.twitter.com/Xm4qOt52uq
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) July 8, 2026
Before the jets arrived, Mildenhall’s staff quickly began covering the perimeter of the base’s key detection positions with plastic fencing. The truck and trailer were placed inside the fence as an additional barrier. Nonetheless, this did not completely ruin the views of the assembled group of plainspotters.
It is unclear whether the additional protective measures were ordered solely from an operational security perspective to block line of sight, or whether there were greater security concerns about a possible attack attempt after the United States declared an end to its ceasefire with Iran.
#USAF United States Air Force
Boeing VC-25B Bridge 1x#AF83F3 25-3300 – SAM 33
The new VC-25B, SAM 33, is on its way from Türkiye to RAF Mildenhall.
The USAF is currently covering the fencing of Mildenhall’s general observation area. pic.twitter.com/Y7OopAF9pj
— Armchair Admiral 🇬🇧 (@ArmchairAdml) July 8, 2026
Typically, these aircraft may land where some degree of advance notice is required, activating an additional layer of security, especially when it involves presidential movements. It is unknown when the decision to visit Mildenhall was made, and it may have been too late to make these arrangements.
Similar measures, covering public areas with plastic sheeting, were also prominently deployed at RAF Fairford shortly after the base began operations as part of Operation Epic Fury. In this case, the sheet emerged after close-up photos of various munitions onboard a strategic bomber were released to the media minutes after they were taken. Since the types of munitions being used could be identified, this would have allowed Iran to prepare its air defenses against certain types of attacks hours before the bombers arrived.
VC-25B Bridge’s first overseas trip
I received questions from many people until I flew to Ankara on Air Force One. aeronautics – Whether the VC-25B bridge is safe enough to be used for international travel. It has also been claimed that there was an ulterior motive behind the switch to VC-25As between Ankara and Mildenhall at a time when the ceasefire with Iran was clearly over.
The most likely reason for this is that the “new” ex-Qatar fighter jets are not equipped with the necessary self-defense capabilities when flying from Turkey during a firefight with Iran.
The actual VC-25 aircraft has these features. pic.twitter.com/OoHxw1JXWy
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) July 8, 2026
The Air Force says the aircraft is equipped with advanced communications and self-protection measures, but the short turnaround period for the aircraft compared to the years it took to significantly delay delivery of Boeing’s VC-25B suggests at least a few shortcuts were taken. It was also noted that, unlike the VC-25A, its own protection measures were not visible from outside the aircraft.
Indeed, as the aircraft arrived at RAF Mildenhall, based on communications between the pilots and air traffic control, it became clear that SAM 33 would not be able to communicate over the standard UHF frequencies currently used by military air traffic controllers. Instead, they had to use VHF frequencies generally reserved for use by civilian visitors.
There are rumors that the VC-25B (Bridge) will debut on the upcoming trip to Türkiye.
It would be interesting to see if the Secret Service and the U.S. Air Force allow travel to the region on aircraft that do not meet the traditional standards of Air Force 1. https://t.co/cR3rYtWniw
— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) June 23, 2026
It is equipped with a UHF radio for pilot use, so it may simply be unserviceable on this flight, but having only one UHF radio available is unusual and suggests it may not have been equipped at all. Meanwhile, the VC-25A not only has a UHF radio in the cockpit, but is also configured to use the HAVE QUICK secure communications protocol when circumstances require.
RAF Mildenhall has been no stranger to the Presidential Airlift Group’s two VC-25As for many years, playing host to them as refueling stations and sometimes as destinations themselves on long journeys. Such stopovers may become less necessary in the future as the VC-25B bridge and the range of the VC-25B increase, but precautionary stops to allow for full fuel tanks may remain standard practice in the event of an emergency.
As this is the aircraft’s first overseas trip, it is the first time the VC-25B bridge aircraft has landed on a UK airfield in its current configuration. However, in the aircraft’s previous life as part of the Qatar Amiri Flight, the aircraft itself had already landed in the UK on several occasions.
How many more times the VC-25B Bridge will land on British soil will depend on whether Boeing’s VC-25B is further delayed. The last known time the VC-25B is scheduled to enter service is in mid-2028, about a year from now, or about half a year before President Trump leaves office at the end of his second term.
I don’t think I’ll ever make another state visit to the UK before then. President Trump has already broken tradition by becoming the first president to make two state visits to the UK. But there could be another kind of visit, especially given the imminent change of leadership in the UK. Inviting the US president to the UK is often used as a way for new British prime ministers to build working relationships with their transatlantic counterparts, based on the potential to personally introduce the king.
In particular, President Trump owns two golf courses in Scotland and is known to love England, having repeatedly expressed his favor toward King Charles III and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Of course, it is also likely that you will have more stopovers while traveling abroad to other parts of the world.
Many thanks to our friends Glenn Lockett and Stewart Jack for the VC-25B bridge arrival images!
