The third C-27J Spartan battlefield airlifter for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has arrived at RAAF Base Richmond northwest of Sydney.
A34-003 touched down on October 18 following a two-week delivery flight journey from Waco, Texas, that involved stops in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
35 Squadron is conducting operational test and evaluation of the C-27J, along with routine training, ahead of the type’s initial operational capability. Another aircraft is expected to arrive in Australia by the end of this year, with 10 being acquired in total.
RAAF Base Richmond welcomed the first of 10 C-27J Spartans Australia has on order in June 2015.
The aircraft will be based at Richmond while facilities at their permanent home at RAAF Base Amberley were being built.
In May 2016, an RAAF C-27J Spartan suffered a reported double tyre blow-out while conducting touch-and-goes during a pilot training flight at Waco Regional Airport in Texas.
The night-time incident caused the temporary closure of the airport while the aircraft was inspected and removed from the runway. The RAAF was investigating.
