Leonardo and the Italian Ministry of Defence’s Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness (Armaereo) have signed a purchase contract to supply the Slovenian Ministry of Defence with a second C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft, Leonardo announced on 21 November 2023.
The contract follows a government-to-government agreement signed by Italy and Slovenia on 17 November 2021, aiming to strengthen bilateral co-operation between the two countries, under which Leonardo and Armaereo were contracted to supply the first C-27J in March 2022.
Slovenia’s first Spartan, which is currently undergoing certification and expected to arrive in country in December this year, was ordered for EUR49 M (in a package valued at EUR 72 M), while the second, which was ordered by Slovenia in September, is costing EUR45.4 M. The overall value of the deal for the two Spartans, which includes ground support equipment, integral logistics support, training, spare parts and additional transport material, and the purchase of fire-fighting and passenger transport modules, amounts to EUR 129 M excluding VAT.
The Spartans being acquired by Slovenia are examples of the C-27J Next Generation standard, which was launched in November 2020. This features new avionics in a glass cockpit with five multi-functional colour screens, a radar system for tactical transport missions and advanced communication systems.
The C-27J fire-fighting module, which has been purchased for both Slovenian Spartans, features the second-generation palletised Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS II) from United Aeronautical Corporation, which Leonardo described as a “world leader in advanced aerial fire-fighting application systems”.
