May 14 2024, 11:29 PM, updated 2y ago
C-32B Gatekeeper provides clandestine airlift to special operations and global emergency response efforts, a role known as "covered air"
Little is known of the activities of the secretive C-32B, whose existence is not widely acknowledged by the Air Force.[6] Outfitted for utility rather than luxury, the heavily 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.
Role
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A C-32B with airstair deployed
The 45-seat C-32B Gatekeeper[16] provides airlift to the U.S. government's Gate Keeper (GK) mission, a special access program which provides clandestine support to foreign states through State Department Foreign Emergency Support Team missions and classified special operations and intelligence missions.[17][2][18] The aircraft are operated by two different units, the New Jersey Air National Guard's 150th Special Operations Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and the 486th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.[19][20] The C-32Bs operate at the direction of the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, though when serving a civilian agency, approval for the use of the aircraft is on the recommendation of the committee of Deputy Secretaries of Defense with the consent of the Secretary 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 (~$238 million in 2023) to fill an Air Force request for transportation capabilities for the Foreign and Domestic Emergency Support Teams.[21] 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 as Area 51 and the Tonopah Test Range.[22] The C-32B became known during the George W. Bush administration for unsubstantiated theories which circulated that they were connected to the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights, giving them the onetime nickname “torture taxi.”
The C-32Bs serve as on-call global transport, and are variants of the 757 from the batch originally designated the 757-23A for Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS), which differ significantly from their VIP-carrying counterparts, outfitted with advanced communications and designed for ultra long-range capability. Most cargo must be stored in the rear of the aircraft as enlarged fuel tanks replace much of the below-deck cargo hold, extending the aircraft's unrefueled maximum range to 6,000 nmi (6,900 mi; 11,000 km).[12] The craft also have an aerial refueling capability via an unmarked, unilluminated conformal Universal Aerial Refueling Receptacle Slipway Installation (UARRSI) located atop the fuselage, 9 feet (2.7 m) behind the cockpit windows, allowing the planes to remain airborne nearly indefinitely.[24][25] The aircraft are also fitted with an airstair allowing passengers to deplane without access to a jet bridge or stair truck, a heavy and uncommon modification in modern commercial aviation.[26][27] For additional support in austere environments, the aircraft are also fitted with a winch-based baggage loading system, designed to load baggage at airfields that do not have adequate material handling equipment available.[28]
In 2014, the C-32Bs received audio and visual equipment upgrades, in addition to installation of upgraded satellite communications systems and secure Ku bandwidth communications management systems to replace commercial-grade Inmarsat installations, in use since 2002.[16] Around the same time, the craft acquired an additional protruding fairing on the roof of the rear of the craft.[29] Similar modifications have appeared on the C-32As, the presidential VC-25As, the E-4B and E-6 “doomsday planes”, and the E-11A BACN.[30] The protrusion reportedly houses Northrop Grumman’s Multi-Role Tactical Common Data Link (MR-TCDL), a Ka and Ku band telecommunications suite designed for war zones but which has proved to be just as relevant over a disaster zone as a battlefield.[30] The system functions as a flying wireless router and server, providing communications where traditional communications infrastructure is unavailable.[30] Budget requests show that around 2016 the cockpit avionics were upgraded to include heads up displays.[31] Depot level maintenance on the C-32B is performed by Big Safari (the 645th Aeronautical Systems Squadron).[32]
According to Air Force Manual 11-2C-32B (2020), at least two members of the C-32B aircrew are always armed.[28]
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