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Credit: Leonardo
Romania is set to bolster its tactical air transport fleet with the purchase of two more C-27J Spartan airlifters from Italy’s Leonardo.
Bucharest will fund the purchase of the two aircraft using funding from its Security Action for Europe loan. According to Leonardo, the two new aircraft will be operated by the Internal Affairs Ministry's General Inspectorate of Aviation, an organization coordinated by the country’s Emergency Situations Department. They will be dedicated to emergency management and civil protection missions. As well as traditional personnel and cargo missions, the aircraft will be charged with the transport of critically ill or contagious patients, firefighting and search and rescue.
Missions will be performed using a series of roll-on and roll-off kits developed for the twin-turboprop aircraft. According to Leonardo, the Romanian fleet of C-27Js will grow to nine with this purchase and boost the global fleet to 102. Deliveries are planned for 2029.
2026 has emerged as a busy year for the C-27J, with orders for four maritime patrol versions from Saudi Arabia, as well as top-ups from Peru and now Romania.
The new Romanian aircraft will be in the C-27J Next Generation configuration with modernized avionics and communications systems and featuring winglets to improve aerodynamic performance.
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