The Australian Air Force will have more range in the region with the arrival of the Spartan C-27J.
Whether it's dropping up to 34 paratroops into a battlefield or lifting more than 20 patients from a disaster zone, the twin prop is the first of 10 planes to add to the capability of the fleet of chinook helicopters and Hercules and Globe Master planes.
"This is a formidable aircraft, and Australia got it right," Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown told troops and media at Richmond Airfield Base on Tuesday.
With a cost to the tax payer of $1.4 billion for the fleet of 10 planes and equipment, the relatively small Spartan (think a dumpy C-130 Hercules with two engines instead of four) is capable of accessing 1900 airfields in Australia, and 400 in the region - more than double the amount now accessible by the larger Hercules.
Air Marshal Brown told gathered troops and media at Richmond the plane will also play a major role in humanitarian operations.
"While this Spartan is designed to carry troops, supplies and equipment, more often than not it will carry hope," he said.
Hope, and a decent bit of missile defence. The plane comes with a missile warning system, secure communications and ballistic protection.
It can also climb steeply and reach safer altitudes quickly, as well as perform tactical manoeuvres at speed.
"It just wants to be in the air," No. 35 Squadron leader Wayne Baylis told AAP. "It's quite nimble."
The No. 35, whose history lending battlefield support dates back to 1942, was disestablished in 1999 but resurrected in 2013 after the purchase of the Spartan from the United States was announced.
The air crew have been training to handle the plane since early 2015, and it's already being assessed in missions.
"Nothing teaches you about the aircraft like getting hands on and flying it," Sqn Ldr Baylis said.
The squadron will initially be run out of Richmond, before switching to RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland by December 2017.
Source:
New Spartan plane for Air Force - 9news.com.au
