| C-32 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A C-32A on final approach | |
| General information | |
| Type | VIP transport,special operations |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | C-32A: 8[1][2] (4 acknowledged)[3] C-32B: 2[4] |
| History | |
| Introduction date | June 1998 |
| Developed from | Boeing 757 |
TheBoeing C-32 is theUnited States Air Force designation for variants of theBoeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. TheC-32A serves theSpecial Air Mission, providing executive transport and broad communications capabilities to senior political officials, while theC-32B Gatekeeper provides clandestine airlift to special operations and global emergency response efforts, a role known as "covered air."[5]
The primary users of the C-32A are thevice president of the United States (using the call sign "Air Force Two" when aboard), thefirst lady, and thesecretary of state. On occasion, other members of thepresident's cabinet andmembers of Congress have flown aboard the C-32A. The aircraft also occasionally serves asAir Force One in place of the largerVC-25A for a variety of reasons, including flying into smaller airports domestically or when the larger aircraft is not needed.
Less is known of the activities of C-32B, whose existence is not widely promoted by the Air Force.[6] The B models are former commercial Boeing 757 aircraft used for global airlift and government crisis-response needs.[7] The modified aircraft were acquired to support the U.S. State Department'sForeign Emergency Support Team, and have ties tospecial operations and theU.S. intelligence community.
The C-32 replaced theC-137 Stratoliner, achieving double the range yet able to land on shorter runways than that aircraft.[8] The C-137 was based on theBoeing 707, and had been in service several decades.
The C-32A is the military designation for the Boeing 757-2G4, a variant of the Boeing 757-200 mid-size,narrow-bodytwin-enginejet airliner. The 757-2G4 has been modified for government VIP transport use, including a change to a 45-passenger interior and military avionics.[3] A contract was awarded in August 1996 for four aircraft, which along with the smallerC-37A and laterC-40 Clipper, would replace the aging fleet ofVC-137 aircraft. The first plane was delivered to the89th Airlift Wing atAndrews Air Force Base,Maryland in late June 1998. More aircraft were acquired later.[3]
The C-32As are painted in the blue and whitelivery,vertical stabilizer flag, and prominent "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"cheatline markings developed byRaymond Loewy at the behest of PresidentKennedy for use onAir Force One. The design is shared with most Special Air Mission aircraft. All of the C-32As havePratt & Whitney PW2000 engines andwinglets for added fuel economy.
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Throughout theObama,Trump, andBiden administrations, the interiors of the C-32As were slowly refitted with more luxurious accommodations, at a cost of $16 million per aircraft.[9] Officially, the work was requested by the Air Force, and is being completed by a division of Boeing at Air Force facilities in Oklahoma. The retrofit includes upgraded and refurbished interior elements throughout, new carpets, lighting, leather seats and wood tables in place of cloth andformica, a complete painting and cleaning, and the replacement of the double-seat configuration with a triple-seat configuration,aft of door 3.[10] The refit is controversial, with critics describing the spending as "posh" and "wasteful" and an effort to create "flying palaces," noting that the aircraft are well into the back half of their service lives.[9][10]The War Zone observed that the spending appears to have little to do with the ability of the aircraft to accomplish its mission, noting that the C-32As have been continuously upgraded with improved communications, avionics, andcountermeasures throughout their service lives without criticism.[9]
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The C-32As are operated by the1st Airlift Squadron of the89th Airlift Wing. They are available for use by the vice-president (using call signAir Force Two), the first lady, and members of the cabinet and Congress (usingSAM callsigns).[3]
The aircraft also occasionally serves asAir Force One in place of the largerVC-25A when the president is traveling to domestic destinations that cannot accommodate the largerBoeing 747-derived presidential plane or if the latter is simply unavailable,[11] or, as in President Joe Biden's February 2023trip to Ukraine, to throw off would-be threats.[12]
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Several C-32As have suffered non-life-threatening equipment failures during VIP flight operations which lead to aircraft returning to Andrews Air Force Base prematurely. In 2018,First LadyMelania Trump andHealth and Human Services SecretaryAlex Azar were aboard a C-32A flying to Philadelphia when smoke filled the cabin shortly after takeoff. Journalists aboard reported being given wet towels to shield their faces from the smoke, and the flight returned to Andrews without further incident.[13] In 2021,Vice PresidentKamala Harris was aboard a C-32A en route toGuatemala when the aircraft was forced to make an emergency return to Andrews over an unspecified equipment failure which delayed the trip but left all passengers and crew unharmed.[14]
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The Trump administration included $6 million (~$7.36 million in 2024) in its 2018 federal budget proposal to study replacements for the aging C-32A.[15] In June 2021, Pentagon leaders in the Biden administration cut funding for the study from its fiscal 2022 budget request. Instead, the Air Force redirected the nominal amount of funding to research and development contracts for three American startup companies:Exosonic andBoom Supersonic, which are developingsupersonic passenger jets; andHermeus, which is developing ahypersonic passenger aircraft. Budget documents state the revised investment “will bolster evaluation and maturation of advanced high speed transport scale aircraft with potential to expand the defense industrial base and serve as C-32A replacements at the appropriate time.”[16] All three programs are many years away from delivery of production aircraft.
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The C-32A is not planned to leaveAir Mobility Command service until 2040; however, discussion of the aircraft's age has continued, prompted by high-profile reliability issues.[17][14] For the duration the C-32A will remain in the fleet, the Air Force will not pursue investment in the airframe beyond already planned modifications, according to the service's fiscal 2022 budget request.[14] Boeing (the sole producer which can fulfillBuy American Act purchasing restrictions for government passenger aircraft) has neglected themiddle of the market since the 757 was discontinued in 2004, repeatedly shelving upgrade plans since 2014.[18] In 2021, the company announced a clean sheet restart of plans for asuccessor aircraft, slated to enter service in the late 2020s.[19]
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The 45-seat C-32B Gatekeeper[20] provides airlift to the U.S. government's Gate Keeper (GK) mission, aspecial access program which provides clandestine support to foreign states through State DepartmentForeign Emergency Support Team missions and classified special operations and intelligence missions.[21][4][22] The aircraft are operated by two different units, theNew Jersey Air National Guard's150th Special Operations Squadron atJoint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and the486th Flight Test Squadron atEglin Air Force Base, Florida.[23][24] The C-32Bs operate at the direction of the commander ofU.S. Special Operations Command, though when serving a civilian agency, approval for the use of the aircraft is on the recommendation of the committee ofdeputy secretaries of defense with the consent of thesecretary of defense.[citation needed] The development of the two aircraft emerged from the 2001 Air Force budget, where they were procured for $144.963 million (~$245 million in 2024) to fill an Air Force request for transportation capabilities for theForeign andDomestic Emergency Support Teams.[25] The Gate Keeper mission predates the aircraft, which are successors to previous fleets based on other models of aircraft. The planes have been spotted throughout the world, including such locations asArea 51 and theTonopah Test Range.[26] The C-32B became known during theGeorge W. Bush administration for unsubstantiated theories which circulated that they were connected to the CIA'sextraordinary rendition flights, giving them the onetime nickname “torture taxi.”[27]
The C-32Bs serve as on-call global transport. Unlike their VIP-carrying counterparts, they are outfitted for advanced communications and ultra long range. Most cargo must be stored in the rear of the aircraft because enlarged fuel tanks replace much of the below-deck cargo hold, extending the aircraft's unrefueled range to 6,000 nmi (6,900 mi; 11,000 km).[16] The craft canrefuel in flight via an unmarked, unlit conformal Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation (UARRSI) atop thefuselage, 9 feet (2.7 m) behind the cockpit windows, allowing the planes to remain airborne nearly indefinitely.[28][29] The aircraft have anairstair that enables passengers to deplane without access to ajet bridge orstair truck, a heavy and uncommon modification in modern commercial aviation.[30][31] They also have a winch to load baggage at austere environments and airfields that lack better handling equipment.[32]
In 2014, the C-32Bs received audio and visual equipment upgrades, upgraded satellite communications systems, and secure Ku-band communications management systems to replace commercial-gradeInmarsat installations in use since 2002.[20] Around the same time, the craft acquired a fairing on the roof of the rear of the craft.[33] Similar modifications have appeared on the C-32As, the presidentialVC-25As, theE-4B andE-6 “doomsday planes”, and theE-11A BACN.[34] The protrusion reportedly housesNorthrop Grumman’s Multi-Role Tactical Common Data Link (MR-TCDL), aKa- andKu-band telecommunications suite that functions as a flying wireless router and server, providing communications where traditional infrastructure is unavailable.[34] Budget requests show that around 2016 the cockpit avionics were upgraded to includehead-up displays.[35] Depot-level maintenance on the C-32B is performed byBig Safari (the 645th Aeronautical Systems Squadron).[36]
According to Air Force Manual 11-2C-32B (2020), at least two members of the C-32B aircrew are always armed.[32]
There are two C-32B aircraft as of 2021: 00-9001 and 02-4452.[37][25] At times, theAir National Guard has appeared to deny the existence of one of the two aircraft. The 2012 edition of the National Guard's Weapons System Modernization Priorities report says that "the 150th Special Operations Squadron of the New Jersey Air National Guard operates the C-32B from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ and is theonly U.S Air Force C-32B", but earlier and later editions describe a need to support upgrades to two aircraft.[38] Both planes are painted gloss white, and usually lack recognizable external markings other than serial numbers. At various times, they have beenspotted with "United States Air Force" emblazoned on thecheatline, the Air Forceroundel on the tail section of thefuselage,[39] or a small American flag on the same area of the rear fuselage.[40] There are only two identified visual differences between the two aircraft: one has larger emergency ramp openings under the doorsills, and one has the rearward window removed from the forward bank of windows on the starboard side.[41] To conceal their activities and identities, both planes are known to adopt varyingserial numbers; examples include 00-9001,[42] 98-6006,[43] 99-6143,[44] 02-5001,[45] and 02-4452.[46]
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The true identity of the older of the two aircraft is MSN 25493/523 (02-4452). Delivered toAnsett Worldwide as N59AW on 26 February 1993, it saw service withATA airlines as 84WA before shuffling through private brokers, and was ultimately sold to the Air Force by Kodiak Associates LLC in 2000.[citation needed] The later aircraft is MSN 25494/611 (00-9001). Delivered toAvianca as N987AN on April 22, 1994,[citation needed] it passed through the hands ofRaytheonE-Systems before the Air Force bought it in 2001.[citation needed] Both aircraft are powered byRolls-Royce RB211 engines, rather than the Pratt & Whitney PW2000 used on the C-32A.
Sparsely marked secretive white 757s often conflated with the C-32B includeN226G and N610G, a pair of 757s operated byL3Harris subsidiary L-3 Capital.[47] The aircraft have been observed operating with various tail numbers, and featured the text "COMCO" in prominent black lettering on the tail until it was replaced by a conservative blue swoosh design.[48][49] The near-identical equipment of the so-calledCOMCO aircraft, including airstair,[50] Rolls-Royce engines,[51] roof communications fairing,[49] and an unexplained rectangular modification applied to the fuselage of both aircraft[52] have fueled rumors that they are in fact C-32Bs with hasty paint or decals applied. Such claims have never been substantiated.[53] Other similar aircraft include N119NA and N874TW, a pair of 757s based atRichmond International Airport, acquired by theU.S. Department of Justice in 2015; they display an American flag on their tail and can be are distinguished from the C-32B by their winglets.
United States
Data fromJane's All the World's Aircraft 2003-04,[56] USAF Museum factsheet[3]
General characteristics
Performance
Data from Air Force Manual 11-2C-32B, Volume 3 (2020)[58]
General characteristics
Performance
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
