The plane will obtain an in depth improve to the avionic suite, onboard programs and self-protection suite.

Leonardo and Armaereo, the Italian Defence Ministry’s Air Drive Armament and Airworthiness Directorate, have signed a contract to start the event actions for the upgrade of the Italian Air Force’s C-27J Spartan fleet. The Spartan has been in service in Italy since 2006, with 12 plane based mostly at Pisa-San Giusto airport which final yr reached the milestone of fifty,000 flight hours.

The contract consists of the event, integration, qualification and certification of a brand new avionics configuration for the C-27J, the improve of a variety of basic programs on the plane, the self-protection system and the flight simulator. The supply of the primary plane within the upgraded configuration will probably be adopted by the retrofit of the remaining 11 plane in service with the Aeronautica Militare.

“The most recent evolution of the C-27J additional improves the Spartan’s efficacy and operational functionality. We’re proud to announce that the Italian Air Drive has chosen the brand new avionic configuration of the C-27J, which can present even higher efficiency and effectivity,” stated Dario Marfè, Senior Vice President Business and Buyer Providers of Leonardo, Plane Division. “With its versatility and mission flexibility, the C-27J provides a fair broader vary of capabilities to help the operators in dealing with new challenges.”

In line with Leonardo, the C-27J will obtain a major improve of its avionic suite by the combination of latest options such because the Mission Laptop, the Flight Administration System, Head Up and Head Down shows, radio and satellite tv for pc communication programs, self-protection system and different upgrades improving the aircraft’s flexibility and operational effectiveness. As a consequence, the coaching units and educating materials of the C-27’s coaching system will even be up to date on the idea of the brand new programs launched on-board.

Among the many plane that shall be upgraded there are the EC-27J JEDI and the MC-27J Praetorian. The EC-27 is a heavily modified variant of the baseline Spartan, which carries Digital Warfare mission with the Jamming and Digital Protection Instrumentation system. The fleet is presently being expanded to 3 plane. The MC-27, however, was developed to offer help to Particular Forces, with three plane modified and able to embarking a palletized GAU-23 30mm automated cannon.

Only a month earlier than the announcement of the improve of the Italian C-27s, the U.S. Division of Protection awarded Leonardo a contract to improve the avionics of the C-27J Spartan fleets of the US Particular Operations Command (SOCOM) and the US Coast Guard (USCG), which function 7 and 14 plane, respectively, which had been transferred by the US Air Drive. The improve, according to the contract notice, shall be carried out at Leonardo’s services in Naples, Italy.

Australia and Romania additionally signed agreements to improve their fleets. Leonardo has been lengthy engaged on new specialised variations of the Spartan as part of the development program, ensuing additionally in retrofit potentialities designed to continuously enhance the plane already in service with numerous operators around the globe.

Stefano D’Urso is a contract journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based mostly in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he is additionally finding out to attain a Grasp Diploma in Aerospace Engineering. Digital Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT strategies utilized to the world of navy operations and present conflicts are amongst his areas of experience.