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Part 1 C-27J Geneology

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Aerospace  –  Background  –  C-27J Geneology: Il Piccolo Hercules? [2]

Also see: FWSAR Italian Style – Aerial Search-and-Rescue  Part 1 Italian SAR & the Piaggio P.166  and  Part 2  new ATR 42 MP Surveyors.

Alenia's C-27J  Spartan  –  A  Second Generation  Fiat G.222 In simple terms, the Alenia C-27J is a modernized G.222 tactical transport aircraft with a digital display cockpit and new power- plants. The original GE T64  turboprops have been replaced by Royce Royce AE2100s driving 6-blade Dowty Rotol R391 propellers.  Engines and propellers are very similar to those used on  Lockheed Martin's  C-130J as originally planned  by LM  and Alenia.

The 'glass' display cockpit of  the C-27J was also designed to be compatable with  'J model Hercules. Lockheed Martin was acknowledged by Alenia for "... support in developing and producing the" C-27J. [1]  That relationship failed once the firms found themselves in competition for the US  Joint Cargo Aircraft program. [2] The winner of  that contentious JCA contest was the C-27J but Alenia / LM cooperation on transport aircraft was over.  The C-27J  marketing emphasis on commonality with the Hercules was also scaled back [3]

With Lockheed Martin out of the picture, Alenia needed a US production partner. That was meant  to be Boeing  but the deal fell through. The first JCA C-27J was built in Italy at  the main Alenia facility in Turin.  The  rest of  the C-27J production run was to come from a new Alenia  factory in Florida. This plant was built  to cover the North American market including Canada. [4] Critics of the US  JCA choice note that USAF timelines and preferences won over Army Aviation interests. The issue is different  for  Canada. Our Air Force prefers to perform Arctic SAR from bases in the south. This puts high transit speeds at the top of their list when a quick response actually demands  that aerial  SAR missions be flown from Arctic airbases. As usual, the real question gets lost. Why is aerial  SAR a military mission in the first place? [5]

Corporate literature portrays the C-27J as new nose-to-tail. It makes good copy but, in reality, the Spartan is just what it looks like –  the Fiat G.222  with modernized systems. That  is not a bad thing. Conceptually, it may date from 1963 but as a tactical transport the design is sound. Its suitability for search-and-rescue is another matter. Certainly Italy doesn't think so. [6] The C-27J has been ordered by eight Air Forces [7] but all are (or will be) using the C-27J as tactical transports. None of  those eight countries will use C-27Js as search-and-rescue aircraft.

[1] A joint company, Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS), was formed in 1997  to develop the C-27J as well as to market the C-130J Hercules and C-27J Spartan as a package.  LM ended  this arrangement to enter their C-130J  in the US  JCA contest. [2] Once Lockheed Martin entered the JCA contest, LM's archrival Boeing announced an alliance with Alenia and L-3 to market the C-27J. [3] 'Similarities' would be a better word than commonality. The cockpits may well be similar but type-specific training will be required none- theless. Likewise, the engines are the same subtype but not the same model number (AE2100-D2A for C-27Js, AE2100-D3 for the C-130Js). [4] It is a potential FWSAR purchase that has made this Florida plant controversial. At the time of writing, Cabinet is said to be weighing potential public opinion backlash at the announcement of another major aircraft purchase from a  US plant.  Boeing is tentatively offering retroactive Industrial Regional Benefits for its 4  CC-177s. If  Boeing still hoped to salvage its relationship with Alenia on North American C-27J JCA production, that came to nought. All negotiations for a Boeing/Alenia 60/40 C-27J JCA production split have been abandoned. [5] Many countries are shifting to civilian agencies who, for reasons of economy, fly smaller and much more practical aircraft like Dash-8s. [6] Italy previously rejected the G.222 for SAR, prefering smaller aircraft.  Recent SAR purchases for the Italian Coast Guard and  Customs Police were for the Alenia ATR-42 MP Surveyor similar to the widely-used Dash-8MP. Italy also ordered larger ATR-72MPs for ASW use. [7] The largest C-27J order is for US  JCA.  It has also been ordered by Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Morocco.