Wed, Jun 18, 2008
Completes Maiden Trip Skyward In "Poor" Weather
Alenia North America announced Tuesday the first C-27J Spartan
for the US Army's Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) successfully completed
its maiden flight at the Alenia facility in Turin, Italy.
"This is an outstanding achievement for the Alenia Aeronautica
team in Italy and demonstrates Alenia's clear capability to achieve
critical program milestones," said Giuseppe Giordo, president and
chief executive officer of Alenia North America, Inc. "On this
great day we also look forward to many more important milestones
including the industrialization of the C-27J in the United
States."
JCA #1 took off from Alenia's Caselle pant on Monday, under
reportedly poor weather conditions, and remained in flight for 40
minutes. The flight included takeoff, functional checks and landing
operations. This marks the beginning of a flight test campaign
including approximately 70 hours of flight and 180 hours of ground
tests. Most of the tests will be conducted in Caselle.
As ANN reported, the Joint
Cargo Aircraft program selected the C-27J Spartan with Alenia as
the aircraft manufacturer. The team (L-3 and Alenia) won the $2
billion contract in June 2007 for up to 78 aircraft for the US Army
and Air Force, though follow-on contracts, as well as
international, foreign military and variant sales are expected to
push the aircraft number over 200.
The C-27J Spartan has been in production in Italy since 2001,
with deliveries to Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Lithuania. The C-27J
has also been selected by Romania, with contract negotiations
currently underway.
The C-27J will replace the US Army's C-23 Sherpa, C-12 and C-26
aircraft and augment the US Air Force's existing fleet of
intratheater airlifters. The aircraft will play a key role in
providing responsive aerial sustainment and critical re-supply
support for the maneuver force to maintain operational
momentum.
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