Alenia C-27J Spartan

The Alenia C-27J Spartanis a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo‘s Aircraft Division, formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016. It is an advanced derivative of the former Alenia Aeronautica‘s earlier G.222 (C-27A Spartan in U.S. service), equipped with the engines and various other systems also used on the larger Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. Specialized variants of the C-27J have been developed for maritime patrol, search and rescue, C3 ISR (command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), fire support/ground-attack and electronic warfare missions.

In 2007, the C-27J was selected as the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) for the United States military. These were produced in an international teaming arrangement under which L-3 Communications served as the prime contractor. In 2012, the United States Air Force (USAF) retired the C-27J after only a short service life due to budget cuts. They were reassigned to the U.S. Coast Guard and United States Special Operations Command. The C-27J has been ordered by the military air units of Azerbaijan, Australia, Bulgaria, Chad, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Zambia

Design and development

In 1995, Alenia and Lockheed Martin began discussions to improve Alenia’s G.222 using C-130J’s glass cockpit and a more powerful version of the G.222’s T64G engine and three-blade propellers. In 1996, a program began on an improved G.222, named C-27J. It used a U.S. military type designation based on the G.222’s C-27A designation. In 1997, Alenia and Lockheed Martin formed Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS) to develop the C-27J. The design changed to use the C-130J Super Hercules’s Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engine and six-blade propeller. Other changes include a fully digital MIL-STD-1553 systems and avionics architecture, and an updated cargo compartment for increased commonality. The C-27J has a 35% increase in range and a 15% faster cruise speed than the G.222.

The C-27J first flew on 24 September 1999. Two months later, the Italian air force was the launch customer of the C-27J, ordering 12 Spartans. At the time, the C-27J had a basic price of US$24 million. After over 400 hours of flight tests spanning less than 13 months, the aircraft was granted civil certification by the Italian Civil Aviation Authority at the Paris Air Show in June 2001.^[8] Military certification followed in December 2001