The tenth and final Leonardo C-27J Spartan battlefield airlifter was welcomed at RAAF Base Richmond on Wednesday.
The formal ceremony was attended by Minister for Defence Marise Payne and Deputy Chief of Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Gavin Turnbull. The completion of the fleet follows the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) milestone, achieved in December 2016.
“We made a very, very strong commitment to building our airlift capability in the 2016 Defence White Paper and in the arrival of today’s 10th aircraft we celebrate the completion of the C-27J fleet,” Minister Payne said.
“This is a very strong representation of Australia’s airpower capability and comprehensive fleet of air mobility platforms.”
Minister Payne added that the Spartan can access over 1900 airfields in Australia, compared with around 500 for the RAAF’s Lockheed C-130J Hercules fleet. “It makes a real difference to what we are able to do,” she said. “It’s a real force multiplier for us, particularly in the Pacific.”
The Spartan is operated by 35 Sqn at Richmond but the unit will relocate to purpose-built facilities at RAAF Base Amberley in early 2019 and Final Operational Capability (FOC) is set to occur towards the end of next year.
AVM Turnbull said that the arrival of the last aircraft in the fleet marks the point at which the organisation begins to mature.
“When we introduce a new aircraft we always take the opportunity to revamp the way we do business and to take a hard look at ourselves,” he told invited guests, referring to what he said was a “yawning cavern” between the C-130J and the Army’s Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters. “It’s not just the end of a delivery but it is the beginning of the development path for the next 20 or 30 years.
“We are going to take this aircraft and we are going to do things with it that you didn’t think we could do with it,” he told representatives from Leonardo during his speech.
Two of the aircraft on static display at Richmond were fitted to operate in a CASEVAC role, with members of 2 CDO on hand to provide an explanation of how the Spartans will improve rescue capabilities.
"They're able to land on roads, poor runways, even paddocks, and will really help us evacuate battlefield casualities within the golden hour. They're much faster than a Chinook, so they really fill a capability gap."
The ceremony included a display of an airdrop involving paratroops and supplies, followed by a Spartan conducting a grass landing.
For more information about the Spartan’s role in the delivery of air mobility capability to the ADF, see ‘A Spartan Life’ in the April 2018 issue of ADM.