Slovenia signs for C-27J Spartan

Slovenia and Italy signed a government-to-government agreement in Rome on 17 November for a C-27J Spartan transport aircraft for the Slovenian Armed Forces. (Janes/Patrick Allen)

Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin and his Italian counterpart, Lorenzo Guerini, signed a government-to-government agreement in Rome on 17 November for a C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft for the Slovenian Armed Forces, the Slovenian government announced on its website the next day.

Worth EUR72 million (more than USD81 million), the agreement covers the acquisition of a C-27J baseline configuration aircraft with ballistic protection for EUR48 million, plus EUR11 million for modules for cargo; transporting passengers, infected persons, and slightly and seriously injured persons with vital signs monitoring; in addition to a firefighting module. The remaining EUR13 million is for a logistical support package, spare parts, crew training (including with simulators), technical documentation, and final certification.

The purchase of a tactical transport aircraft is envisaged in the Resolution on the General Long-Term Development and Equipping Programme of the Slovenian Armed Forces until 2025 and the Medium-Term Defence Programme for 2018–23. Scheduled for delivery in mid-2023, the C-27J is funded by the 2021 and 2022 Slovenian defence budgets.