Azerbaijani Air Force Receives First Leonardo C-27J Spartan Tactical Transport Aircraft.

On July 1, 2024, Russian media reported that the Azerbaijani Air Force had incorporated its first Leonardo C-27J Spartan aircraft as part of the modernization of its military air transport capabilities. The aircraft was received at Heydar Aliyev Airport, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
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Leonardo C-27J Spartan Tactical Transport Aircraft (Picture source: Russian Social Media)

Mid-last year, the Azerbaijani government formalized a contract with the Italian company Leonardo for the acquisition of two new C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft. The decision aims to renew part of the Azerbaijani Air Force's transport fleet, which currently includes older Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft from the Soviet era and CASA CN-235.

The reception ceremony was held in the presence of President Ilham Aliyev, acting as the commander-in-chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. The event also featured the head of Italy's defense portfolio, Guido Crosetto, and the president of Leonardo, Stefano Pontecorvo. The Azerbaijani Air Force emphasized that the aircraft could be primarily used for transport missions, dropping combat loads and paratroopers, as well as for medical evacuation and humanitarian aid.

With its incorporation, the Azerbaijani Air Force becomes a new operator of the C-27J Spartan, which is slowly gaining ground among international users. Among them are the Royal Australian Air Force, which recently ordered an avionics modernization program for the aircraft. Regionally, the Spartan is operated by the Peruvian and Mexican air forces. In Europe, its main operator is the Italian Air Force, followed by Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Finally, and as mentioned during the 2023 contract signing, the defense portfolio did not specify if this was the first incorporation of a larger number of C-27J aircraft.

It is worth recalling that on June 9 2023, Leonardo announced that commercial collaboration between Italy and Azerbaijan had been strengthened with the signing of the contract for the supply of the C-27J Spartan. An Azerbaijani delegation was in Italy for the contract signing in the presence of representatives of the Defense Ministers of the two countries.

The C-27J Spartan, developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016), is an advanced derivative of 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. In addition to the standard transport configuration, 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. The aircraft can reach a maximum speed of 362 knots (676 km/h) and achieve a range of over 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 km).