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Air Force One, the typical air transport of the President of the United States of America, flying over Mount Rushmore.
Photo: U.S. Air Force File Photo. | Public domain | Wikimedia Commons

Pentagon Revokes Ex-Air Force Secretary's Clearance Over Air Force One Leak Claim

Written by TNNBot on

The Pentagon revoked former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall's eligibility to access classified information and barred him from sensitive positions on Friday, August 7, 2026, citing an alleged unauthorized leak about Air Force One.[1]

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the action followed Kendall's alleged unauthorized disclosure of classified details about Air Force One's capabilities to a media outlet.[1] Kendall denied that he disclosed classified information and said no one has told him specifically what he is alleged to have revealed.[1]

In June and July, reporting showed the Qatari-gifted, $400 million retrofitted Air Force One lacks some advanced antimissile and other defensive modifications that the older presidential jet retained.[1] U.S. officials told CBS News that President Trump left the July NATO summit on the older Air Force One after intelligence indicated a credible Iranian plot to fire a missile at the president's plane.[1]

The Pentagon has not publicly identified the precise classified details it says Kendall disclosed, and officials have not released further specifics about the review or any investigation.[1]

  1. CBS News
National Security Defense Department & Pentagon
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📌 Key Facts

  • On Friday, August 7, 2026, the Pentagon revoked former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s eligibility to access classified information and barred him from sensitive positions.
  • Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the action followed Kendall’s alleged unauthorized disclosure of classified details about Air Force One’s capabilities to a media outlet.
  • Kendall denied disclosing classified information and said no one has told him specifically what he is alleged to have revealed.
  • The case arises after June–July reporting that the Qatari-gifted, $400 million–retrofitted Air Force One lacks some advanced antimissile and other defensive modifications present on the older presidential jet.
  • U.S. officials previously told CBS News that President Trump departed the July NATO summit on the older Air Force One after intelligence indicated a credible Iranian plot to fire a missile at the president’s plane.

📰 Source Timeline (1)

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August 08, 2026
3:31 AM
Pentagon revokes security clearance of former Air Force chief
CBS News