Editing Boeing C-32 (section)

==C-32A==
===Development===
[[File:Air Force One and Air Force Two at Paris Orly.jpg|thumb|A C-32A dwarfed by a [[Boeing VC-25|VC-25A]] at [[Orly Airport|Paris-Orly Airport]], 2009]]The C-32A is the military designation for the Boeing 757-2G4, a variant of the Boeing 757-200, a mid-size, [[Narrow-body aircraft|narrow-body]] [[Twinjet|twin-engine]] [[jet airliner]]—that has been modified for government VIP transport use, including a change to a 45-passenger interior and military avionics.<ref name="factsheet2">[https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104518/c-32/ Air Force C-32 factsheet]. US Air Force, 12 May 2015.</ref> A contract was awarded in August 1996 for four aircraft supplemented by the smaller [[Gulfstream V|C-37A]] and later [[Boeing C-40 Clipper|C-40 Clipper]] to replace the aging fleet of [[Boeing C-137 Stratoliner|VC-137]] aircraft. The first plane was delivered to the [[89th Airlift Wing]]<ref name="factsheet2" /> at [[Andrews Air Force Base]], [[Maryland]] in late June 1998. Additional aircraft were acquired later.

=== Equipment and capabilities ===
The C-32As are painted in the blue and white [[Aircraft livery|livery]], [[vertical stabilizer]] flag, and prominent "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" [[cheatline]] markings developed by [[Raymond Loewy]] at the behest of President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] for use on [[Air Force One]]. The design is shared with most Special Air Mission aircraft. All of the C-32As are fitted with [[Pratt & Whitney PW2000]] engines and are fitted with [[winglets]] for added fuel economy.

==== Appearance upgrades ====
[[File:Secretary Blinken Prepares to Depart Joint Base Andrews on his First Trip as Secretary of State (51038279141).jpg|thumb|Secretary of State [[Antony Blinken]]  aboard an upgraded C-32A in 2021]]
Throughout the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama]], [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump]], and [[Presidency of Joe Biden|Biden]] administrations, the interiors of the C-32As were slowly refitted with more luxurious accommodations, at a cost of $16 million per aircraft.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Rogoway|first=Tyler|date=August 23, 2018|title=USAF Upgrading Another C-32 'Air Force 2' Interior For $16M, Here's What The First Looks Like|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/23087/usaf-upgrading-another-c-32-air-force-2-interior-for-16m-heres-what-the-first-looks-like |access-date=2021-06-05|website=The Drive|language=en}}</ref> 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 and [[Formica (plastic)|formica]], a complete painting and cleaning, and the replacement of the double-seat configuration with a triple-seat configuration, [[aft]] of Door 3.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Weissgerber|first=Marcus|date=August 16, 2018|title=Pentagon Spending $34M to Make Presidential Jets More Posh|url=https://www.defenseone.com/business/2018/08/pentagon-spending-34m-make-presidential-jets-more-posh/150616/ |access-date=2021-08-07|website=Defense One|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> ''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, and [[countermeasure]]s throughout their service lives without criticism.<ref name=":4" />

===Operational history===
[[File:Boeing C-32A (757-2G4), USA - Air Force AN0781236.jpg|thumb|left|C-32A at airport terminal in 2005]]
The four C-32As are operated by the [[1st Airlift Squadron]] of the [[89th Airlift Wing]]. They are available for use by the vice-president (using call sign [[Air Force Two]]), the first lady, and members of the Cabinet and Congress (using [[Special Air Mission|SAM]] callsigns).<ref name="factsheet2" /> They are also used by the president (using call sign [[Air Force One]]) if the destination is too small to support the larger [[Boeing VC-25|VC-25As]] or when they are unavailable.<ref name="Onward State2" />

The aircraft also occasionally serves as [[Air Force One]] in place of the larger [[Boeing VC-25|VC-25A]] when the president is traveling to domestic destinations that cannot accommodate the larger [[Boeing 747]]-derived presidential plane or if the latter is simply unavailable,<ref name="Onward State2">{{cite web|last1=Choquette|first1=Stefan|title=University Park Airport Ideal Destination for Slimmer Air Force One|url=https://onwardstate.com/2011/02/04/up-airport-ideal-destination-for-slimmer-air-force-one|access-date=5 February 2021|website=Onward State|date=February 4, 2011 }}</ref> or, as in President Joe Biden's February 2023 [[2023 visit by Joe Biden to Ukraine|trip to Ukraine]], to throw off would-be threats.<ref name="AP">{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Zeke|title=Sneaking a president from DC to Kyiv without anyone noticing
|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-kyiv-politics-74c9de636c489393c86ad115e5cbcb48 |date=21 February 2023|website=Associated Press}}</ref>

==== Incidents ====
[[File:President Trump Travels to Pennsylvania (50516529056).jpg|thumb|Antennae and fairings fitted atop the C-32A in 2019]]
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 Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Melania Trump]] and [[United States Secretary of Health and Human Services|Health and Human Services Secretary]] [[Alex 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Bennett|first1=Kate|last2=Cole|first2=Devan|date=October 17, 2018|title=Melania Trump's plane lands safely after 'mechanical issue'|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/17/politics/first-lady-plane-grounded/index.html |access-date=2021-08-07|website=[[CNN]]}}</ref> In 2021, [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Kamala Harris]] was aboard a C-32A en route to [[Guatemala]] 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.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Pawlyk|first=Oriana|date=2021-06-08|title=Vice President's Plane Malfunction Casts Light on Air Force C-32 Woes|url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/08/vice-presidents-plane-malfunction-casts-light-air-force-c-32-woes.html |access-date=2021-08-07|website=[[Military.com]]|language=en}}</ref>

===Replacement===
[[File:Air Force One at MSP Airport (50238015382).jpg|thumb|A Boeing C-32 is Air Force One as it lands with President Trump in 2020]]
The Trump administration included $6 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=6000000|start_year=2018}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in its 2018 federal budget proposal to study replacements for the aging C-32A.<ref name="Defense One2">{{cite web|last1=Weisgerber|first1=Marcus|title=Pentagon Wants to Get Started on New Air Force Two and Doomsday Planes|url=http://www.defenseone.com/business/2017/05/pentagon-wants-get-started-new-air-force-two-and-doomsday-planes/138269/ |access-date=24 August 2017|website=[[Defense One]]|date=May 30, 2017 }}</ref> 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]] and [[Boom Technology|Boom Supersonic]], which are developing [[Supersonic transport|supersonic passenger jets]]; and [[Hermeus]], which is developing a [[Hypersonic flight|hypersonic 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.”<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Weisgerber |first=Marcus |date=June 1, 2021 |title=Pentagon Shelves Plans for New Air Force Two |url=https://www.defenseone.com/business/2021/06/pentagon-shelves-plans-new-air-force-two/174434/ |access-date=2021-06-05 |website=[[Defense One]] |language=en}}</ref> All three programs are many years away from delivery of production aircraft.
[[File:P20210227AS-0572 (51013312242).jpg|thumb|Joe Biden made his first flight as President aboard a C-32A in 2021]]
The C-32A is not planned to leave [[Air Mobility Command]] service until 2040; however, discussion of the aircraft's age has continued, prompted by high-profile reliability issues.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Newdick|first=Thomas|date=June 3, 2021|title='Air Force Two' Replacement Dropped With Funds Redirected To Supersonic Transport Research|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40912/air-force-two-replacement-dropped-with-funds-redirected-to-supersonic-transport-research |access-date=2021-08-07|website=The Drive|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> 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.<ref name=":6" /> Boeing (the sole producer which can fulfill [[Buy American Act]] purchasing restrictions for government passenger aircraft) has neglected the [[middle of the market]] since the 757 was discontinued in 2004, repeatedly shelving upgrade plans since 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Katz|first=Benjamin|date=2021-07-13|title=Airbus Soars Past Boeing by Showing Little Mercy to Struggling Customers|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbus-boeing-rivals-max-11626189853|access-date=2021-08-07|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> In 2021, the company announced a clean sheet restart of plans for a [[Boeing New Midsize Airplane|successor aircraft]], slated to enter service in the late 2020s.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-01-22|title=Boeing's new CEO orders rethink on key jetliner project|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-boeing-737max-nma-idUKKBN1ZL31J|access-date=2021-11-16}}</ref>