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Trump’s earlier choice to use the gifted Qatari jet as a primary presidential aircraft has been controversial because the gifted plane lacks key military defenses of the original Air Force One, including the ability to refuel mid-air and missile-defense systems, according to a law enforcement official briefed on its capabilities.

The original Air Force One — a Boeing VC-25A from the early 1990s — is a unique military plane outfitted with these capabilities.

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The main concern Wednesday was the president’s need to use the command-and-control functions of the original Air Force One, according to two other former security officials. Those systems turn the plane into a “flying situation room,” allowing the president to receive classified intelligence briefings, communicate securely and give orders to military officers around the world.

The Qatari Boeing VC-25B — originally manufactured as a passenger jet in 2012 — does not have some of the original Air Force One’s equipment, and some of the jet’s capabilities have not been fully tested, the sources added.

“This plane was built for aesthetics, not mission,” one former national security official said. “We know about its paint, its leather seats. But we don’t know its capabilities.” ....

National security officials say it typically takes years, as well as billions of dollars, to make an Air Force One aircraft safe and secure — time and money that was not spent here.

Both the White House and the Air Force have previously said “no shortcuts were taken” with the new Air Force One, adding that the new plane is equipped with advanced technology and that critical mission requirements were prioritized over aesthetics.