Aircraft serving US presidential visit arrives in Hanoi

The C-17 military transport aircraft numbered 33126 landed at the airport at 3:55 p.m. It then stopped in front of the airport's maintenance area for cargo to be loaded and unloaded.

According to a representative of Noi Bai International Airport, the second C-17 flight carrying goods for Biden's visit is expected to land at the airport at 8 p.m.

The next logistics flights are scheduled for Sept. 4 and 5. The equipment and goods serving the visit would be received by the U.S. Embassy.

The C-17 Globemaster III is a heavyweight military aircraft developed by Berkeley-based aerospace manufacturing firm McDonnell Douglas at the end of the 1980s for strategic and tactical transportation, capable of carrying weapons and soldiers to any location in the world.

Each C-17 is 53 meters long.

A Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft in the sky over Hanoi on Sept. 1, 2023.. Photo by VnExpress/Vu Anh

A C-17's hold is 5.5 meters wide and 4.6 meters high, allowing a carrying capacity of 77 tons - 102 fully-equipped parachuters, or three steel-plated Strykers (armored car), or one M1 Abrams tank. It can also carry four UH-60 Black Hawk transportation helicopters or two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.

After 30 years of service, the C-17 Globemaster III is considered the backbone of American military transportation as well as the go-to vehicle for its leaders during foreign visits.

U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Vietnam on Sept. 10 and 11 upon the invitation of General Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Vietnam's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang confirmed the visit schedule in a statement on Tuesday, saying that: "We believe visits by leaders of the two countries will deepen Vietnam and U.S.'s relations, helping the relations grow stably, substantially and in the long term in all fields, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world."

The visit will be the first by President Biden since assuming office in early 2021, and will happen as the countries celebrate 10 years of Comprehensive Partnership.