United States The United States received its first C-27J on 25 September 2008. In September 2008, L-3 Link's C-27J schoolhouse began classes at the Georgia Army National Guard Flight Facility, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. By April 2009, the U.S. Army had accepted deliveries of 2 aircraft and had 11 more on order. In May 2009, the U.S. Army and Army National Guard relinquished all aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, primarily the
Air National Guard. This led to the purchase being reduced to 38 C-27Js and the USAF receiving total control of all US C-27Js. Initially, the C-27J was to be operated by the Air National Guard for direct support of the
United States Army. Later, both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard flight crews support the aircraft's fielding. By July 2010, the U.S. Air National Guard had received four C-27Js for testing and training, with initial operational capability expected in October 2010. 's 164th Airlift Squadron in 2010 The U.S. Air Force performed the C-27J's first combat deployment in summer 2011. In August 2011, two C-27Js flown by Air National Guard aircrews, augmented with
Army National Guard personnel, began operations at
Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. Between August 2011 and June 2012, the C-27Js of the
179th Airlift Wing, followed by the 175th Wing, executed more than 3,200 missions transporting over 25,000 passengers, and 1,400 tons of cargo. In January 2012, the Department of Defense announced plans to retire all 38 USAF C-27Js on order because of excess intra-theater airlift capacity and budgetary pressures, with the C-130 to replace its role. In February 2012, Alenia warned that it would not provide support for C-27Js resold by the U.S. to international customers in competition with future orders. In March 2012, the USAF announced the C-27J's retirement in fiscal year 2013 after determining other programs' budgetary needs and requirement changes for a new Pacific strategy. The cut was opposed by the Air National Guard and by various legislators. In July 2012, the USAF briefly suspended flight operations following a flight control system failure. By 2013, newly built C-27Js were being sent directly to the
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base boneyard. The USAF spent $567 million on 21 C-27Js since 2007, with 16 delivered by the end of September 2013. 12 had been taken out of service. A further 5 were to be built by April 2014, as they were too near completion to be worth cancelling. Budget cuts motivated the divestiture. A C-27J allegedly costs $308 million over its lifespan, in comparison with a C-130's $213 million 25-year lifespan cost. In November 2012, the C-27J deployed for its first domestic mission, contributing to the
Hurricane Sandy relief effort. The C-27J had a
flyaway cost of
US$31.7M in 2012, and an average cost of US$66.2M in 2018. In July 2013, the
United States Coast Guard considered acquiring up to 14 of the 21 retired C-27Js and converting them for
search-and-rescue missions, while cancelling undelivered orders for the
HC-144 Ocean Sentry, to save $500–$800 million. EADS claimed that the HC-144 costs half as much as the C-27J to maintain and operate. The
U.S. Forest Service also wanted 7 C-27Js for aerial firefighting. The
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) were interested in acquiring ex-USAF C-27Js. If the DoD determined it could not afford the aircraft, they would go to the Forest Service. In late 2013, SOCOM was allocated 7 C-27Js to replace its
CASA 212 (C-41) training aircraft. In December 2013, the 14 remaining C-27Js were transferred to the Coast Guard, with the first HC-27J delivered in Coast Guard colors in April 2016.
Others , 2013 In October 2006, Italy accepted delivery of the first C-27J of an initial batch of 12 aircraft. In January 2007, the first aircraft was delivered to the 46a Brigata Aerea, in Pisa. The Italian Air Force C-27Js have an
inflight refueling system and are fitted with a
Defensive Aids Sub System (DASS). From September 2008 to January 2009, a pair of Italian Air Force C-27Js were deployed to Afghanistan for NATO in-theatre airlift operations. In December 2013, an Italian C-27J was deployed to the
Philippines to participate in international
humanitarian relief operations in the aftermath of
Typhoon Haiyan. The Italian Air Force is also the launch customer for a special mission variant of the C-27J, named Praetorian in the configuration tailored for ItAF and equipped with ISR equipment and roll-on, roll-off mission systems consoles; Italy is the first European nation to operate such an aircraft. C-27J at Batajnica Air Show 2012 In 2006, Bulgaria had initially ordered five C-27Js to replace its aging fleet of
Antonov An-26 aircraft, but reduced its order to three aircraft in 2010 due to funding shortages. In March 2011, the Bulgarian Air Force received the third and final of the C-27Js ordered. The fleet is employed for military transport missions as well as medical evacuations, special tasks of the Interior Ministry, and participating in international operations such as the rotation of Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan. In 2006, the Romanian government announced the selection of the C-27J, seeking 7 aircraft to be delivered from 2008 to replace
Antonov An-24 and
Antonov An-26 aircraft, beating the EADS CASA C-295. In February 2007, a legal challenge filed by EADS blocked the Romanian order; the order was allowed to proceed when the Romanian court rejected EADS' complaint in June 2007. In December 2007, a contract for the seven C-27Js was signed. , 2015 In December 2011, the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) issued a
Foreign Military Sales request for 10 C-27Js valued at US$950M to replace its retired
DHC-4 Caribou fleet. Australia opted for the C-27J over the rival
EADS CASA C-295 following a RAAF evaluation, which had noted the C-27J's wider and taller cabin being compatible with the Australian Army's general purpose
G-Wagen vehicle, and palletized goods. In December 2013, the first Australian C-27J performed its maiden flight. In December 2014, the RAAF began maintenance training on the type. Delivery of the first two on order was accepted that month. The last aircraft for the RAAF was delivered in April 2018. In April 2026, Australia's
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announced that Australia would retire the aircraft due to high costs for their mission of logistics in the Pacific. In July 2011, the
Mexican Air Force signed a $200 million contract for four C-27Js and a multiyear support agreement for the fleet. All four were delivered by the end of 2012. Mexico's C-27Js are based at
Santa Lucía Air Force Base Num 1 and operated by 302 Air Squadron, alongside a number of C-130 Hercules. In June 2013, the
Peruvian Air Force was negotiating to acquire four C-27Js for $200 million. The C-27J competed against the EADS CASA C-295,
Antonov An-70,
Antonov An-32, and C-130J. In November 2013, Peru selected the C-27J. Two aircraft and associated support were purchased in a 100 million-euro deal. In March 2015, the first C-27J was accepted by the Peruvian Air Force. By this point, four C-27Js were on order for the service. The fourth aircraft was delivered in December 2017 to Grupo Aéreo N°8. In June 2018, Kenya received an international loan for military aircraft and expansion including three C-27Js. In January 2021, the Slovenian government announced its interest in purchasing one C-27J for the
Slovenian Air Force and Air Defence. In November 2021, the Slovenian Ministry of Defense signed a contract for one C-27J to the Slovenian Army. It is to be delivered within one year and equipped with modules for transporting casualties, transporting cargo, and extinguishing forest fires.
Possible sales In August 2009,
Taiwan entered price negotiations with Alenia Aeronautica for the sale of six C-27Js. In 2010, the
Indian Air Force issued a Request for Information (RFI) for 16 medium military transport aircraft. Alenia Aeronautica responded with data on the C-27J. In 2011, Indonesia was considering purchasing several C-27Js. In 2015, Alenia Aermacchi were studying the development of a C-27J maritime patrol variant. Other proposed variants of the platform include a multi-mission C-27J that could be armed with air-launched weapons and equipped with a maritime surveillance radar. Alenia Aermacchi promoted this model to the
Royal Air Force. In 2015, the
Ghana Air Force requested four C-27Js via an FMS sale, but the purchase was never completed. In 2016, Leonardo conducted demonstration flights around La Paz at the request of the Bolivian government, which may lead to Bolivia purchasing C-27Js.
Failed bids In 2007, the C-27J was being considered as a sole-source C$3 billion contract by Canada as a replacement for its search and rescue air fleet. Alenia Aermacchi bid their C-27J FWSAR/MPA, a modified C-27J for the
Search and rescue and
Maritime Patrol Aircraft roles. Exclusive modifications included a mission systems pallet from
General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, additional observation windows, an
AESA search radar, satellite and ATC radios, flare/markers launchers, an electro-optical/infrared turret, a new flight management system and other performance upgrades. Alenia Aermacchi bid up to 32 aircraft with lifetime maintenance from
KF Aerospace and in-service support from
General Dynamics Canada. The C-27J FWSAR/MPA bid competed against the
Airbus C-295 FWSAR and the
Embraer KC-390. In December 2016, the Canadian government selected the C-295. In 2012, the C-27J was shortlisted as a candidate for the
Philippine Air Force (PAF) medium lift aircraft program. A joint team from the Philippines'
Department of National Defense (DND) and PAF inspected the C-27J in January 2012. The DND already received approval from the Philippine president to purchase 3 units, and is awaiting congressional approval as of November 2012. The PAF announced EADS-CASA's (now Airbus) C-295M as the winner for the medium lift aircraft acquisition project. == Variants ==