Painted in a stylish blue-and-white livery, a stars-and-stripes flag marking on the fin and 'United States of America' titling on the fuselage, all four C-32As are recognisable world-wide as VVIP (very, very important person) transport aircraft. Assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing based at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and operated by the 1st Airlift Squadron, the four jets meet the requirements of the 89th’s Special Air Mission Foreign team.
The C-32As often use the Air Force Two callsign when carrying the vice president, one of the VVIPs that, over the years, has made frequent use of the type.
The C-32A also functions as Air Force One when carrying the president if the destination airport is too small to accommodate a Boeing VC-25A – the usual type for the role: The C-32A is cleared to use 5,000-foot runways.
A C-32A usually accompanies the president during long-distance trips, serving as a back-up to Air Force One. In addition to transporting the president, vice-president, and the speaker, C-32As also carry other congressional leaders or delegations, cabinet secretaries, the first lady and justices of the Supreme Court. They are also used by senior Department of Defense leaders.
From its launch, the twin-engine Boeing 757 rep…
