Bulgaria receives its last C-27J transport

Photo Alenia Aeronautica

31/03/11 By Craig Hoyle Flightglobal.com

Alenia Aeronautica delivered the Bulgarian air force’s third and last C-27J Spartan tactical transport during a 31 March ceremony at Sofia Vrazhdebna airport. The Italian company also opened a new logistics support centre for the type at the site. Introducing the C-27J forms part of a modernisation effort by the Bulgarian air force. The service’s other current transport assets include three Antonov An-26s and three Let L-410s, says Flightglobal’s MiliCAS database. Examples of both legacy types are visible in the image below, along with the air force’s lone An-30 reconnaissance aircraft.  Bulgaria had originally intended to acquire five C-27Js via a contract signed in 2006, and received its first example in November 2007. However, the NATO nation last April announced its intention to cancel the final two aircraft in an effort to save funds. Delivery of the third example was delayed while negotiations took place. Alenia Aeronautica has also previously delivered C-27Js to Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Morocco, Romania, Slovakia, the US Air Force and the US Army. It also recently named Indonesia as a potential future customer for the type.