The Royal Australian Air Force takes delivery of its first Alenia C-27J Spartan tactical airlifter.

Delivery of the second C-27J, A34-002, is expected for August this year.

RAAF's first C-27J Spartan entered Alenia Aermacchi’s Turin assembly line in December 2012 and performed its maiden flight on December 18 2013. It was then ferried to L-3 in Waco in March 2014 for fitment of its ballistic protection matting, EW/self-protection systems, and communications suite. The RAAF then accepted the first two C-27J Spartans onto the Commonwealth register, and commenced training on the aircraft at L-3’s facility at Waco, last December.

The C-27Js are being acquired as battlefield airlifters to replace the capability lost with the retirement of the DHC-4 Caribou in 2009. The ten C-27Js ordered by Australia will be based at Amberley.

The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a medium-sized military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Alenia Aermacchi. It 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 electronic warfare and ground-attack missions.

(Source: Australian Aviation)