Leonardo C-27J Spartan

Updated: October 2026 – A gray twin with a high wing crosses the airfield, the fuselage looks short and sturdy, a ramp shows under the tail, and the propellers turn with a conspicuous number of blades: you may well be looking at a Leonardo C-27J Spartan. The Italian transport is at its core a thoroughly modernized G.222 from the 1970s, with technology from the C-130J. Here you learn how to recognize the C-27J with confidence, how to tell it from the G.222 and C295 and where you can get it in front of your lens in Europe.

What is the C-27J Spartan?

The C-27J is a tactical transport of the medium class: two turboprops, a shoulder-mounted wing, a rear ramp and a robust landing gear for short and unpaved runways. It brings troops, paratroopers, cargo or casualties to places where large transports such as the A400M would be oversized or could not land at all. The cabin has room for about 60 troops or 46 paratroopers, and the payload is up to about eleven and a half tons.

It was developed by Alenia Aeronautica, which now belongs to the Italian group Leonardo. The basis is the Aeritalia G.222, a transport that Fiat Aviazione designed in the late 1960s. In the mid-1990s Alenia was looking for a way to modernize the proven type and found it with Lockheed Martin: in 1997 the two founded a joint venture to equip the new version with components of the then-new C-130J. The result flew for the first time on September 24, 1999. Civil certification followed in June 2001, military certification in December of the same year.

The name Spartan, by the way, comes from the USA: the G.222 in US Air Force service was already called the C-27A Spartan. The C-27J took over the designation and nickname, and the “J” points to the kinship with the C-130J.

The features that are enough to identify it

You do not need special knowledge for the C-27J. Three observations narrow it down reliably in most cases.

The landing gear retracts into fairings on the sides of the fuselage that sit under the wing like elongated bulges. The C-27J shares this with the C295 and the CN-235, so it helps mainly to rule out types with gear in the engine nacelles such as the An-26 or the An-32. The final confirmation comes from the military serial on the fuselage or tail.

From the G.222 to the C-27J: what stayed and what is new

Telling it from the G.222 is the most interesting point for spotters, because at first glance the two look almost the same from the outside. No wonder: the fuselage, wing and tail come from the same design, and length and wingspan are identical.

The G.222 first flew on July 18, 1970 and entered service with the Italian Air Force in April 1978. According to common reference works, 111 were built. Besides Italy, users included Argentina, Libya, Nigeria, Thailand and Venezuela, the Libyans in a special version with Rolls-Royce Tyne engines. The US Air Force flew ten aircraft as the C-27A in Panama. Italy itself also had, besides transports, special versions for electronic warfare (G.222VS), for calibrating radio and radar systems (G.222RM) and for firefighting (G.222SAA). The Aeronautica Militare officially retired the G.222 in 2005. Today it is thus a historic type that you find mainly in museums and in remaining fleets outside Europe.

Feature	Aeritalia G.222	Leonardo C-27J
ICAO type designator	G222	C27J
First flight	July 18, 1970	September 24, 1999
Engines	2 × General Electric T64	2 × Rolls-Royce AE 2100-D2A
Propellers	three-blade, Hamilton Standard	six-blade, Dowty R391
Cockpit	analog instruments	glass cockpit modeled on the C-130J
Length / wingspan	22.70 m / 28.70 m	22.70 m / 28.70 m
Max. takeoff weight	about 28 t	32.5 t
Status	historic, retired in Italy in 2005	in service and in production

The conversion went far beyond an engine swap. With the AE 2100 turboprops and the six-blade propellers from the C-130J, the C-27J gained considerably more power, which shows in a higher takeoff weight, higher cruise speed and better climb performance. The glass cockpit with multifunction displays is likewise modeled on the C-130J, and a large part of the flight software is related to it.

In practice that means: counting propellers is the surest way to tell them apart. Three broad blades with a large spinner mean G.222, six slim blades mean C-27J. The nacelles look different, too, but for that you need some comparison experience.

Variants at a glance

The C-27J is basically a transport, but there are several derivatives and upgrade standards.

Version	Role	Notes
C-27J	tactical transport	base version, troops, cargo, paratroopers, medevac flights
C-27J Next Generation	tactical transport	modernized version, with new avionics and winglets among other things; Slovenia is among the customers
MC-27J Praetorian	multirole, reconnaissance, fire support	prototype 2014, planned for the Italian Air Force
EC-27 “Jedi”	electronic warfare	equipment announced by Italy in 2010
HC-27J	maritime surveillance, search and rescue	14 former USAF aircraft with the US Coast Guard

Most interesting for spotters is the Next Generation: if you see small, upward-pointing wingtips on a C-27J, it is very likely a newer aircraft. Older C-27Js have smooth wing ends without winglets. A proposed gunship version for the USA, the AC-27J, was shelved in 2009.

A short excursion to the USA

The C-27J’s story in America is a lesson in procurement policy. In 2007 the type won the competition for the Joint Cargo Aircraft for the US Army and US Air Force, originally with 78 aircraft in the contract. Two years later the plan shrank to 38, and in 2012 the Air Force announced it would give the type up again. The 21 aircraft already delivered went, after a period in storage, to other agencies: 14 to the US Coast Guard, which converted them as the HC-27J, and seven to the Special Operations Command. You practically never see such an HC-27J in Europe – but in the USA you occasionally do at Coast Guard stations.

Operators in Europe

In Europe the C-27J is found mainly in the south and east. The fleets are small, which makes every sighting outside these countries a real catch. The information is based on established reference works; numbers and basing change with follow-up orders, conversions and retirements.

Country	Operator	Number (approx.)	Basing
Italy	Aeronautica Militare	12	46a Brigata Aerea, Pisa
Greece	Polemikí Aeroporía	8	354th Squadron “Pegasus,” Elefsis near Athens
Romania	Forțele Aeriene Române	7	90th Airlift Base, Bucharest Otopeni
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Air Force	3	transport squadron in Sofia-Vrazhdebna
Lithuania	Karinės oro pajėgos	3	delivered 2006 to 2009
Slovakia	Vzdušné sily	2	Malacky air base, from 2018
Slovenia	Slovenian Armed Forces	2	Next Generation, deliveries from December 2023

Italy is the launch customer and home of the type. In 1999 the Air Force ordered twelve aircraft; the first was accepted in October 2006 and joined the 46a Brigata Aerea in Pisa in January 2007. There the C-27J flies with the 98° Gruppo, alongside the larger C-130Js. Pisa is thus the best place in Europe to see the type regularly – the military side shares the runways with the civil Pisa Airport. You can read more about the Italian Air Force and its aerobatic team in the article on the Frecce Tricolori; its history is shown by the Air Force museum Vigna di Valle.

Greece flies eight aircraft with the 354th Tactical Transport Squadron in Elefsis, west of Athens. If you have Greece on your list for spotting anyway, familiarize yourself with the rules beforehand; the guide to plane spotting in Greece helps you get started. Why military photography can be tricky there is shown by the Kalamata case of 2001 and the overview of the current spotting rules in Greece.

Romania operates seven C-27Js with the 90th Airlift Base, which shares its grounds with Bucharest Otopeni Airport. Two more aircraft are on order for the Interior Ministry’s aviation. Bulgaria cut its original order to three aircraft for lack of money; they are based at Vrazhdebna at Sofia Airport.

Lithuania was among the early export customers with three aircraft, and Slovakia took over its two C-27Js from 2018 and based them at Malacky, north of Bratislava. Slovenia is the newest customer in Europe: the first C-27J Next Generation arrived in December 2023, and a second aircraft followed.

Outside Europe, C-27Js fly in Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Azerbaijan and Australia, among others, plus newer orders from Africa and the Middle East.

C-27J, C295, CN-235 or Transall?

Most mix-ups happen with other twin-engine transports. The finder helps you narrow it down.

The larger transports are easier to rule out: the C-130 Hercules and the A400M have four engines, and the Brazilian C-390 Millennium is a jet. You get an overview of the whole class in the guide Recognizing military transports; civil turboprops you sort out with Telling turboprops apart.

Where you meet the C-27J as a spotter

In German-speaking countries the C-27J is a guest. Neither the Bundeswehr nor the Austrian Armed Forces or the Swiss Air Force fly it. Your chances lie with multinational exercises, relocations of equipment and personnel, transit flights and airshows. Especially at major events such as the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, transports from southern Europe often stand in the static display, and occasionally the C-27J is also seen in the flying program. Which shows are worthwhile is shown in the overview Airshows in Europe.

If you search specifically, travel to the bases: Pisa offers a particularly good mix with civil traffic and the military base in one place. At Otopeni and Sofia too, civil and military aircraft share the runways. How to follow military aircraft online and why some do not show up at all is explained in the guide Tracking military aircraft.

Stricter rules apply at military airfields than at commercial airports, and in some countries photographing in restricted areas can have serious consequences. Read the article Photographing military airfields: the rules beforehand and stick to public, designated locations.

Photo tips especially for the C-27J

The C-27J is not a giant, but a characterful subject with a short, strong silhouette.

When the light suits your location, you calculate in advance with the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot. For airshow days in particular, the article Photographing airshows helps.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The C-27J Spartan shows what comes out when you combine a proven airframe from the 1970s with modern technology from the C-130J. You separate it from the G.222 by the propellers, and from the C295 by fuselage proportions and nacelles. In Europe it flies with seven air forces, mostly in small numbers – Pisa is the place with the best chances. Anyone who catches it in German-speaking countries has a real rarity in the can.