Boeing C-32

Overview

The Boeing C-32 is the United States Air Force designation for variants of the Boeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. The C-32A serves the Special Air Mission, providing executive transport and broad communications capabilities to senior political officials, while the C-32B Gatekeeper provides clandestine airlift to special operations and global emergency response efforts, a role known as "covered air." The primary users of the C-32A are the vice president of the United States (using the call sign "Air Force Two" when aboard), the first lady, and the secretary of state. On occasion, other members of the president's cabinet and members of Congress have flown aboard the C-32A. The aircraft also occasionally serves as Air Force One in place of the larger VC-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. The B models are former commercial Boeing 757 aircraft used for global airlift and government crisis-response needs. The modified aircraft were acquired to support the U.S. State Department's Foreign Emergency Support Team, and have ties to special operations and the U.S. intelligence community. The C-32 replaced the C-137 Stratoliner, achieving double the range yet able to land on shorter runways than that aircraft. The C-137 was based on the Boeing 707, and had been in service several decades.