On Thursday, April 16, 2026, Australian Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy gave a television interview to ABC News in which he announced that, under the 2026 National Defence Strategy, ten Leonardo Alenia C-27J Spartan light transport aircraft would be retired.
Photo: Cpl. Samuel Miller, RAAF
The premature retirement of the problematic fleet of European transport aircraft after just 11 years of operational service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is part of a plan to redirect 5 billion AUD in savings from current programs to new, more urgent defense capabilities. According to Minister Pat Conroy, the Spartans’ tasks are to be taken over by a fleet of commercial aircraft that will support personnel transport and logistics across the Pacific. Although no decision has yet been made, commentators suggest it could be based on the ATR 72 model, while the C-27Js will certainly be put up for sale.
It should be noted that in December 2011, the Australian Department of Defence sent a Request for Information (RFI) to the US government, which mediated the sale of the aircraft under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The aircraft were manufactured by Italian company Alenia, now Leonardo. Interestingly, a counteroffer involving the Spanish CASA C295, now Airbus, was rejected.
The package was valued at 950 million USD, and the new aircraft were to replace the de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou, 18 of which were used between 1964 and 2008. The contract was signed in May 2012 with US company L3 Communications, now L3Harris Technologies, with Alenia Aeronautica as the main subcontractor. Originally, the United States had wanted to sell used USAF aircraft after several years of service, but the Italian manufacturer did not want to provide support for them.
Deliveries of factory-new C-27Js to Australia took place from 2015 to 2018. They entered service with No. 35 Squadron RAAF, unofficially nicknamed Wallaby Airlines, initially based at RAAF Base Richmond in New South Wales before later being relocated to RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland.
They were initially described as battlefield airlifters, filling the gap between helicopters and larger transport aircraft: 12 medium C-130J-30 Super Hercules, which are to be replaced by 20 factory-new aircraft, and 8 heavy C-17A Globemaster IIIs.
Due to a delay in achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC), the C-27Js were reclassified as light tactical transport aircraft for humanitarian-assistance missions in crisis situations in Australia and the Pacific region.
After 11 years of service with the RAAF, it was concluded that the C-27Js had failed to meet the requirements set for them, while defense media, including Janes and Australian Defence Magazine, reported low operational readiness. This is another European aircraft type to be prematurely retired from the Australian Defence Force in recent months after failing to meet expectations, following the already withdrawn fleet of 42 MRH-90 Taipan multirole helicopters, replaced by an order for 40 UH-60M Black Hawks, and the planned retirement of 22 EC665 Tiger ARH attack and reconnaissance helicopters, which are being replaced by the first of 29 AH-64E Apache Guardians already entering service.
Australia is not the first country planning to retire its Spartans. Lithuania and Slovakia had previously announced such plans, intending to replace them with the heavier Brazilian Embraer C-390 Millennium, although Vilnius postponed its decision until after 2030 in January 2026 and will modernize its Spartans for service until 2036. Nevertheless, Leonardo has developed an improved C-27J Next Generation version, which has been selected by Azerbaijan, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, Tanzania, and Saudi Arabia, the latter becoming the first customer for the armed variant. In addition, the older variant remains in service in Bulgaria, Chad, Greece, Kenya, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Italy, the United States, including US Army special operations forces under USASOAC, and Zambia.
SOF Photo of the Week
U.S. and Australian Special Operations Forces (SOF) conduct a high-altitude low-opening (HALO) parachute jump from a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-27J Spartan of the 35 Squadron during Talisman Sabre in Queensland, Australia, July 17, 2019. Talisman… pic.twitter.com/enrjy1Y0UW
— SOAA – Special Operations Association of America (@SOAAorg) March 19, 2025
#AusAirForce deployed a C-27J Spartan to the Defence Pacific Air Program in 🇵🇬 to provide airlift support to the PNG government. #YourADF had the opportunity to train and fly into remote highland airfields, transport #PNGDF personnel and supplies, and support HADR operations.🇦🇺✈️ pic.twitter.com/qfL2u7JF2P
— Defence Australia (@DefenceAust) April 30, 2024