A brand new Australian defence technique will see AU$5 billion redirected from present applications in the direction of new capabilities, with the headline lower being the early withdrawal of the RAAF’s ten C-27J Spartan airlifters.
Information of the lower got here with the discharge of Australia’s 2026 Nationwide Defence Technique, which states the Italian-built transport plane can be changed “with a business plane fleet to assist personnel and logistics transport throughout the Pacific”.
The primary of the Royal Australian Air Drive’s C-27J Spartans arrived in 2015, with the ultimate plane within the order of ten airframes arriving in 2018. Though constructed by Alenia in Italy, the plane have been ordered via a U.S. International Army Gross sales (FMS) deal that was spun out from the U.S. Air Drive’s personal messy procurement of the Spartan. The C-27J confronted competitors from the Airbus C-295, although this feature was dominated out after falling wanting a lot of functionality necessities set by the RAAF.
Now, solely eleven years after preliminary deliveries, the plane is because of be retired from Australian service. A agency retirement date has not but been introduced. The younger airframes are nearly sure to attract important curiosity on the second hand market from different armed forces within the area and additional afield, although, as Scramble notes, any such sale – involving the switch of restricted applied sciences – would require an indication off from the U.S. and from the producer.
The C-27J Spartan is the smallest of the RAAF’s three airlifters, flying alongside the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules and the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III. In 2021, the Australian Defence Drive (ADF) introduced that the Spartan can be refocused in the direction of the humanitarian and catastrophe reduction (HADR) function, moderately than supporting abroad fight deployments and operations like its bigger counterparts, and as was meant when procured.
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SOF Picture of the Week
U.S. and Australian Particular Operations Forces (SOF) conduct a high-altitude low-opening (HALO) parachute leap from a Royal Australian Air Drive (RAAF) C-27J Spartan of the 35 Squadron throughout Talisman Sabre in Queensland, Australia, July 17, 2019. Talisman… pic.twitter.com/enrjy1Y0UW
— SOAA – Particular Operations Affiliation of America (@SOAAorg) March 19, 2025
#AusAirForce deployed a C-27J Spartan to the Defence Pacific Air Program in 🇵🇬 to offer airlift assist to the PNG authorities. #YourADF had the chance to coach and fly into distant highland airfields, transport #PNGDF personnel and provides, and assist HADR operations.🇦🇺✈️ pic.twitter.com/qfL2u7JF2P
— Defence Australia (@DefenceAust) April 30, 2024
A 12 months earlier, a Authorities report quietly famous points with the sustainment of the C-27 fleet. Australian Defence Journal later reported that the Spartan “has additionally reportedly suffered from poor availability charges since introduction, largely as a consequence of sustainment and provide chain points”.
Sustainment points forcing the early retirement of an plane sort is acquainted floor for Australia, the nation having already ditched its power of NH90 battlefield helicopters in favor of latest UH-60 Black Hawks. In the meantime, for related causes, the Tiger assault helicopter is because of be withdrawn from Australian service in 2028.
Though the Nationwide Defence Technique doc notes that business plane can be sought to exchange the C-27J, it also needs to be famous that the RAAF at the moment has twenty C-130J Hercules airlifters on order from Lockheed Martin – with first deliveries due in 2028.
The brand new C-130Js are meant to exchange Australia’s present fleet of the identical plane, although does embrace a big uplift of eight airframes. Industrial plane could also be sought to take over among the Spartan’s much less demanding duties, transporting personnel and palletised freight, whereas the additional C-130Js may offset the lack of a cargo-dedicated airlifter for sure mission units the place the bigger maintain and rear ramp are required.
E-7 Wedgetail Alternative and Extra Underneath Consideration
Alongside the announcement relating to the C-27J Spartan, the brand new Nationwide Defence Technique additionally brings with it another attention-grabbing notes.
The RAAF power of E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning (AEW) plane have been the primary on this planet to enter service, and now Australia is the primary nation planning for its withdrawal – even earlier than main prospects just like the Royal Air Drive and U.S. Air Drive introduce them to service. It must be harassed that that is probably associated to long run planning, and shouldn’t be taken as a sign that the RAAF is looking for to dump its Wedgetails forward of schedule.
Given the relative youth of the Wedgetail program and its ongoing improvement for brand spanking new prospects, there isn’t any instantly apparent alternative for the place this subsequent technology AEW functionality would come from. It’s recognized that the U.S. Division of Protection seeks, in the long run, to maneuver AEW over to space-based capabilities, however as Australia’s lack of a sovereign orbital launch functionality means such a proposal for the ADF would have main hurdles to clear from the beginning.
We even have additional point out of the RAAF’s intention to combine hypersonic weapons onto its F/A-18F Tremendous Hornets. This may probably come from the joint Australia-U.S. Hypersonic Assault Cruise Missile (HACM) mission, which has confronted delays however could also be prepared for preliminary testing subsequent 12 months.
The US Air Drive plans to start flight testing of the #Scramjet powered Hypersonic Assault Cruise Missile #HACM this 12 months for a fast fielding within the second half of subsequent 12 months. Constructing on the extremely profitable Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Idea (HAWC) program that… pic.twitter.com/hzNlRuSZPL
— Air-Energy | MIL-STD (@AirPowerNEW1) February 1, 2026
As has been confirmed earlier than, the doc additionally notes Australia’s procurement of the AGM-88G Superior Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Prolonged Vary (AARGM-ER) suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) weapon, in addition to the fielding of the AGM-158B The AGM-158B JASSM-ER (Joint Air-to-Floor Standoff Missile-Prolonged Vary), AGM-158C LRASM (Lengthy Vary Anti-Ship Missile), and the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile on present platforms.
