C-27J SPARTAN REVISED FOC

11 JANUARY 2022

AMBERLEY QLD: The RAAF has reduced its requirements and rescheduled Final Operational Capability certification for its fleet of Leonardo C-27J Spartan airlifters, accepting the limitations to the aircraft's capability within its current configuration after consigning the platform to the Light Tactical Fixed Wing (LTFW) airlift mission.

Under the rescheduled arrangements, the RAAF's C-27J Spartan fleet is working towards Final Material Release of the aircraft and a reduced Final Operating Capability requirement certification a few days apart in June (2022).

If the revised FMR and FOC certification schedule is achieved, the C-27J Spartan will exit its Introduction Into Service program a full 54 -57 months after the original FMR was scheduled in October 2017 and FOC was scheduled in December 2017.

The RAAF formally reroled the C-27J Spartan from the originally envisioned high intensity/high threat Battlefield Mobility mission to the much lower threat Light Tactical Fixed Wing airlift mission after it became apparent that certifying and then updating the aircraft's full spectrum Electronic Warfare Self Protection (EWSP) survivability suite on the small RAAF fleet was unviable.

The RAAF Amberley southern Queensland based 35 Squadron flies all ten of the RAAF's C-27J Spartan airlifters which were acquired between 2014 and December 2017 under project Air 8000 Phase 2.

Under the new arrangements, the C-27J Spartan will continue to conduct Humanitarian Aid & Disaster Recovery (HADR) operations, Search & Rescue (SAR), Airborne Maritime Surveillance and regional airlift support in the Asia Pacific and Australia.

The RAAF acquired the C-27J Spartan in response to the short notice retirement of the DHC-4 Caribou tactical airlifter in 2010, initially joining a Foreign Military Sales process to acquire the aircraft via the US Army which was developing the airframe as the Joint Cargo Aircraft for itself, the USAF and US Special Operations Command.

The RAAF continued to pursue the C-27J Spartan after the US cancellation of the Joint Cargo Aircraft program prior to it reaching Military Type Approval and full systems integration had been achieved, leaving the RAAF with a highly capable but not quite finalised battlefield airlifter with no large partner to share the significant cost of certifying and updating its advanced Electronic Warfare Self Protection suite in the ever evolving battlespace.

Part of the problem has however been resolved, with the RAAF and the US Army dissolving the Foreign Military Sales structure under which the aircraft were originally bought, allowing the RAAF to appoint aircraft manufacturer Leonardo as lead engineering authority.

Under the new arrangement with Leonardo, the RAAF's ten C-27J Spartans will be fitted with the Leonardo Mode 5 IFF (Interrogator Friend or Foe) allowing them to operate within controlled military airspace safely remediating one of the most serious deficiencies of the aircraft.

The C-27J Spartan original Electronic Warfare Self Protection suite was a much more sophisticated integrated system that included the AAR-47Av2 Missile Warning System, APRBv2 Radar Warning System and the ALE-47(V) Threat Adaptive Countermeasures Dispensing System combined with the APX-119 Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator IFF (Mode 4 when originally delivered) which was backed up by a comprehensive ballistic armour and spall liner suite to protect crew and passengers from Anti Aircraft Artillery and small arms projectiles and fragmentation.

The failure to achieve Military Type Certification of the Electronic Warfare Self Protection Suite and the C-27J Spartan fleet's long term low availability led to the Spartan Introduction Into Service program being added to the Government's programs of interest list in 2019.

The RAAF acquired ten C-27J Spartan 'Battlefield Airlifters' for $432 million within the $1.8 billion Project Air 8000 Phase 2 with the aircraft entering service in 2015 with the RAAF's now Amberley based 35 Squadron.

The C-27J Spartan was developed for the US military under the US Department of Defence Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program which was eventually terminated, but the RAAF continued with the acquisition.

Since entering service in 2015, the C-27J Spartan has experienced difficulties in fulfilling its roles, but has been deployed operationally to provide Airborne Maritime Surveillance in support of Pacific Island Forum nations and in diplomatic airlift support across the region in both HADR and election support roles.

The RAAF has never achieved the full requirement of flying hour support operations on the C-27J Spartan fleet, which has flown approximately one third of the budgeted flight hours since it entered service in 2015.