MC-27J concept. Alenia art
Posted on 03/09/2019 5:00:31 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
The army’s air mobility has been enhanced by the air force’s acquisition of 10 C-27J Spartan airlifters. These aircraft give the Australian Defence Force much greater flexibility in moving personnel and cargo to remote locations, whether across northern Australia, or into the Pacific and PNG.
But the C-27J platform can do much more than haul cargo.
One of the most impressive military capabilities is the role of an airborne gunship. With a heritage dating to converted C-47s, nicknamed ‘‘Puff the Magic Dragon’’, that supported US forces in Vietnam, modern gunships such as the AC-130J version of the Hercules have been extensively used over Afghanistan and more broadly in the war on terror.
The C-27J Spartan platform has evolved into the MC-27J Praetorian, which can perform a multitude of roles. These include working as an airborne gunship via a gun pallet; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions including signals intelligence and electronic warfare; medivac and search and rescue; and command and control through palletised roll-on roll-off modules.
Adding that flexibility to the ADF’s fleet would allow a RAAF force comprising legacy C-27Js and additional MC-27Js to play an expanded role in joint operations.
The ADF has never fielded an airborne-gunship capability but it needs to think about future evolution and how the C-27J would fit into the future force.
The acquisition under the Defence Department’s Air 7003 purchasing project of MQ-8 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles will add a new level of support for ground forces. Replacing the Aussie-Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter is still set for the second half of the 2020s under current plans. Acquiring additional MC-27Js would be a logical step to knit these capabilities together.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
MC-27J concept. Alenia art
A baby C130...
My first thoughts also.
Smaller might equate to less expensive and more maneuverable. Tighter cornering might help keep them on target better.
Or an updated C-7 Caribou, depending on your perspective.
U.S. Air Force shelving brand new C-27J Spartan aircraft after spending millions
Note: These were forced on the Air Force thru democrat senators, but when Obama cut military spending, the USAF did NOT have O&M funds to actually fly them.
A dozen new C-27J Spartans have been sent to a storage facility at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz., known as "the boneyard" and five that are still under construction will likely end up there as well, reported the Dayton Daily News.
"They are too near completion for a termination to be cost-effective," Air Force spokesman Darryl Mayer told the Ohio newspaper.
Since 2007, the military reportedly spent $567 million on 21 of the C-27J Spartans but only 16 have been delivered and the majority of those sit in the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, according to the Dayton Daily News.
In 2011, seven democratic senators from Ohio penned a letter appealing to the military to purchase up to 42 more C-27J Spartans, saying that doing otherwise would "weaken our national and homeland defense."
Form follows function as they say.
Despite being an excellent aircraft, the C-27J has not won many orders.
So I'm guessing that these are Ohio state senators? AFIK Ohio only has 2 federal senators.
Twice the USAF airlift organization has abandoned the C-27.
The C-27 would make an excellent special operations platform with its smaller size and short field performance .
seven democratic senators from Ohio
Is this a trick question? Heh.
Some of them might have been dead.
I was told there would be no math.
Are they giving it a Shave in that picture ?
I’ve seen math, lots of math. Lots of stats and numbers over the years. A lot of that doesn’t even matter. What really matters is how a Christian should conduct themselves. I’ll say if a person knows how linked abortion and vaccines are, would God approve?
I don’t know your faith, but I know mine.
Lol, wrong reply to the wrong thread. My apologies.
Sell ‘em to Australia at a discount?
Before they all got sent to the boneyard, the Coast Guard at McClellen Airport, Sacramento, acquired 2 or three at no cost. They use them with their C130s for Coastal duties.
Drink!
CC
Copy!
Wait, we’re talking coffee right?
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