The US Navy (USN) has received into service the last of 17 Boeing C-40 Clipper liaison and support aircraft, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced on 22 October.
The US Navy has received all 19 of its C-40 Clipper aircraft, with two more set to be received by the US Marine Corps. (US Navy)
The last aircraft was received by the Tactical Airlift Program Office (PMA-207) on 26 September, ahead of it being delivered to the US Naval Reserve Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 57 at Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island, California.
As noted by NAVAIR, the delivery of this and one other aircraft earlier in the year has enabled the USN to stand-up an additional C-40 squadron. Established in September and set to be declared operational later this month, VR-51 is located at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii. Other USN C-40 units comprise VR-58 at NAS Jacksonville in Florida and VR-59 at NAS/Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Forth Worth in Texas
Based on the Boeing 737-700C airliner-freighter, the C-40 has been the mainstay of the USN’s fixed-wing medium-lift capability since it entered service in 2001. It is used mainly to transport ship crew and cargo from the US to forward locations. These aircraft are operated in a ‘combi-convertible’ configuration that enables the aircraft to be configured for all-passenger (121 persons), all-cargo (36,000 lb [16,330 kg] across eight 463L pallets), or a combination of passengers and cargo fits.
In addition to the 17 Clippers operated by the navy, the US Marine Corps (USMC) is to receive two 737-700 IGW-series commercial aircraft to be sourced via AAR Government Services Inc. These will be flown by Marine Transport Squadron One (VMR-1) at NAS/Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Forth Worth.
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