The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016).^[2] It is an advanced derivative of Alenia Aeronautica's earlier G.222 (C-27A Spartan in U.S. service), equipped with the engines and various other systems also used on the larger Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. In addition to the standard transport configuration, specialized variants of the C-27J have been developed for maritime patrol, search and rescue, C3 ISR (command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), fire support and electronic warfare and ground-attack missions.

In 2007, the C-27J was selected as the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) for the United States military; these were produced in an international teaming arrangement under which L-3 Communications served as the prime contractor. In 2012, the United States Air Force (USAF) elected to retire the C-27J after only a short service life due to budget cuts; they were later reassigned to the U.S. Coast Guard and United States Special Operations Command. The C-27J has also been ordered by the military air units of Australia, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Romania, Peru, and Slovakia.

An Italian Air Force C-27J Spartan
Role	Military transport aircraft
National origin	Italy
Manufacturer	Alenia Aeronautica Alenia Aermacchi Leonardo
First flight	24 September 1999
Introduction	October 2006 (Italy)
Status	In service
Primary users	Italian Air Force United States Coast Guard Royal Australian Air Force See Operators below for others
Produced	1999[citation needed]–present
Number built	82 as of 30 June 2016[1]
Developed from	Aeritalia G.222