Trump plans to take Qatari jet to Asia, but it’s unclear whether it’s been ‘maxed out’

President Donald Trump is expected to take the Qatari-gifted Air Force One to Asia on Monday as questions linger about upgrades the White House said were needed after a security threat from Iran forced the president to fly home from Turkey on a secret military plane in July, according to two U.S. officials.For months, Trump has said the jet from the Qataris would be “going away” to get “maxed out” so it could “go into any territory.” In September, he said those changes to the plane would “take about 60 days.” The president flew on the new Air Force One to Ireland that month without any issues. He then used the plane regularly during a midterm travel blitz in October, which meant it was not out of commission for an extended period.Instead, the plane has received some improvements and periodic maintenance, but it is unclear whether it has been fully “maxed out,” per the officials. A longer upgrade period is expected in the future, according to one of the officials, but those upgrades will not take a full 60 days.In recent months, the plane has received some “cosmetic” enhancements to the interior, the other U.S. official said, but that did not cover the larger work that the White House said would take place eventually.“We don’t comment on specific upgrades or modifications to Air Force Once,” a senior administration official told NBC News in a statement. “We maintain a consistent posture that ensures a safe, secure, and reliable capability for the President of the United States and routinely evolve the capability as required to maintain that posture. It is the greatest Presidential plane ever built.”In July, Trump said the plane “has a lot of capability.”“But as I understand it, in about a month ​or so, they’re gonna send it to have it be maxed out,” he said. “It’ll take about a month.” Trump did not detail the nature of the work, and the White House has not explained why the original assessment of 30 days later doubled to 60 days.At the time, then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the new Air Force One was “perfectly safe” for domestic and overseas travel but noted in July that the plane would “receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete.”