Leonardo to Upgrade C-27J Tactical Airlifter with New Avionics

Leonardo has announced a program to upgrade the C-27J Spartan military tactical transport aircraft with avionics, communication and winglets.

The new C-27J baseline configuration will be characterized by a brand new avionics system. The main benefits include compliance with new civil aviation regulations and military requirements as well as obsolescence risk reduction.

The new configuration will be tested and qualified in 2018 and it will be available in 2019. New Operators will leverage more modern avionics, improved operational costs and aircraft performances, within the aircraft fly away price, a Leonardo statement said.

Leonardo will present the C-27J as the best solution for African Countries. A C-27J model will be on display at the Africa Aerospace & Defence exhibition in Pretoria later this week.

The aircraft demonstrated to be particularly suited to support international operations, civil defence, tactical transport and VIP transport. It is the ideal platform for operations in Africa as it can be loaded and perform tactical and operational missions from non-prepared runways, at high altitudes and high temperatures, capabilities still unmatched by other same-class aircraft.

Umberto Rossi, SVP Marketing and Sales at Leonardo Aircraft, said: “The C-27J Spartan is the most effective multi-mission airlifter available on the market today. Its capability to operate from the most rudimentary airstrips, in extreme environmental conditions cannot be matched by any other twin-engine airlifter.

Ordered and deployed with full satisfaction by the most important Air Forces, the Spartan has already fully demonstrated its ability to effectively accomplish any tactical transport mission, ranging from disaster relief to “last tactical mile” troops support.