Finmeccanica delivers first C-27J to US Armed Forces in Waco, Texas

Finmeccanica, along with subsidiaries Alenia Aeronautica and Alenia North America, and its US partner L-3 has announced the delivery of the first of the 78 C-27Js Spartan ordered last year within the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) programme.

The JCA programme is the joint US Army and US Air Force programme for a tactical transport aircraft. The plane was delivered in Waco, Texas to the United States' Armed Forces.

In a statement, Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica said, ''The delivery of the first C-27J Spartan to the US Armed Forces shows Finmeccanica's capability to assert itself, also at an international level, by offering excellent technological products.''

He said the C-27J JCA is a project his company is especially proud of, as it is ''in fact the greatest export success ever obtained for an aircraft designed and manufactured in Italy and has been delivered to the customer on time and on budget.''

He shared the achievement with US partner L-3 and the Finmeccanica team, specially mentioning Alenia Aeronautica and its subsidiary Alenia North America, crediting managers, engineers, technicians and workers who have put in years of work on the project.

Finmeccanica is Italy's leading high-tech company, operating in the design and manufacture of helicopters, defence electronics, civil and military aircraft, aerostructures, satellites, space infrastructures and missiles. The group is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, with operations in Italy and abroad through subsidiaries and joint ventures, employing over 60,000 people of which around 10,000 are in the UK, 3,500 in France and 2,000 in the US. 

As part of its drive to maintain and build on its technological expertise, Finmeccanica says it spends 14 per cent of its revenues on research and development. 

Guarguaglini said that the US is proving to be one of the major markets for Finmeccanica, ''not only because it has the most substantial defence budget, but also because it can drive access to other important markets''.

The $2.04 billion contract for the supply of 78 C-27Js was inked on 13 June, 2007. 

However the US Armed Forces envisage the acquisition of 145 airplanes, of which 75 will be for the Army and 70 for the Air Force, with a total forecast of 207 aircraft within 10 years, with an estimated value of $6 billion. 

The C-27J Spartan is a multi-role aircraft with high performance features, efficiency and operational effectiveness. The C-27J JCA made its first flight on 18 June 2008, at the Flight Test Centre of Alenia Aeronautica's Caselle plant, near Turin. 

The aircraft flew over the Atlantic, stopping in Iceland and Canada and reaching the US in mid-August for the integration of some specific components required by the US Army. 

The second C-27J JCA is being tested in Italy and will reach Waco, Texas during the coming weeks; delivery to the US Armed Forces is planned for November 2008.