C-27J SPARTAN COMMUNICATIONS UPGRADE
Two RAAF C-27J Spartan airlifters operating out of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force's Air Transport Wing facility at Port Moresby's Jackson International Airport in Papua New Guinea as part of Operation Kimba in June. The Royal Australian Air Force's fleet of C-27J Spartan airlifters will undergo an upgrade to integrate new secure digital communications into the relatively new aircraft.
27 OCTOBER 2022
AMBERLEY QLD: The Royal Australian Air Force's fleet of C-27J Spartan airlifters will undergo an upgrade to integrate new secure digital communications into the relatively new aircraft.
Under a $70 million program, Spartan prime contractor Leonardo will replace the C-27J Spartan's existing communications suite with a new secure digital radio and data system that complies with US cryptographic security requirements enabling the aircraft to communicate with partner forces as well as send and receive secure communications within the Australian Defence Force networks.
The Spartan digital communications suite upgrade will be undertaken by Northrop Grumman and RAAF personnel as the C-27J Spartans rotate through deeper level maintenance schedules at RAAF Amberley.
Work on the first aircraft is scheduled to commence in September 2023, with the final Spartan upgraded in 2026.
The Royal Australian Air Force acquired a fleet of ten C-27J Spartan aircraft under Project Air 8000 Phase 2 (Battlefield Mobility) with the first aircraft delivered to Australia in 2015.
The C-27J Spartan was intended as a 'contested airspace' capable airlifter, but lack of fleet size and major partner involvement after the collapse of the larger USAF and US Army Joint Cargo Aircraft program made maintaining C-27J electronic warfare capability impractical forcing the fleet to be downgraded to the Light Tactical Fixed Wing (LTFW) airlift mission in non contested airspace and in support of Pacific Islands Forum nations.
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.
