The USMC welcomed its first Boeing C-40A Clipper strategic transport to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS JRB) Fort Worth in Texas on May 19; the first of two aircraft that will ultimately be operated and fielded by the Marine Forces Reserve.

This C-40A Clipper (BuNo 170041) will be assigned to Marine Transport Squadron 1 (VMR-1) ‘Roadrunners’ – a component of Marine Aircraft Group 41 (MAG-41) and the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) at NAS JRB Fort Worth – and will be joined by the second and final aircraft this autumn. This C-40A pair effectively replaces the two McDonnell Douglas C-9B Skytrain II transports that VMR-1 operated from Joint Base Andrews/Naval Air Facility Washington in Maryland until 2017 when the unit was relocated to Fort Worth to provide crews and share Clippers with the US Navy’s Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 59 (VR-59) ‘The Lone Star Express’.

Commenting on the arrival of the first C-40A, Lt Col Douglas Kurz – commander of VMR-1 – said: “We are truly grateful for the continued support, training and mentorship of [the Commander, Fleet Logistics Support Wing] and Navy transport squadrons. I am beyond proud of the herculean effort the Marines of VMR-1 have accomplished over the past three years in procuring this aircraft.”

According to the 2022 Marine Corps Aviation Plan, VMR-1 will be relocated from Fort Worth to MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, by FY24. Once based there, the unit and its C-40As will replace the two Gulfstream IV-based C-20Gs that are currently being used to support airlift and logistics operations across the Indo-Pacific theatre.

The two C-40As acquired for USMC use are not new-build aircraft but were converted from a pair of used Boeing 737 airliners. However, once operational, the two aircraft will be used to support a wide variety of missions across the Indo-Pacific. “VMR-1 will use these aircraft to support the Marine Corps and joint services with assault support in the form of air logistics, providing time-, place- or mission-sensitive, long-range, multi-purpose air transport and critical logistical support of key personnel and cargo between and within combatant commands and theatres of war,” the USMC said in a press release.