The USA’s C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft

Counterfeit Chinese parts in planes. (Nov 8/11)

When the WALRUS super-heavy cargo airship was canceled, combat commanders complained that front-line airfields were often too short for the C-130 Hercules that make up the USAF’s tactical transport fleet. Delays in buying a small cargo aircraft to fill that role were making that problem worse. Starved of useful help due to USAF-sponsored delays, and the lack of appropriate aircraft in the USAF, the Army carried on with its aging C-23 Sherpas, and repurposed aircraft like the unprotected C-12 Hurons, in order to ferry troops, supplies, and/or very small vehicles within its theaters of operations. “The JCA Program: Key West Sabotage?” looked at the different levels of urgency and priority in the US Army and US Air Force, the resulting Congressional SNAFUs, and early-stage developments leading up to the contract award.

JCA could have been worth up to $6 billion before all was said and done, and the finalists were a familiar duo. After EADS-CASA’s CN-235 and a shortened version of Lockheed Martin’s C-130J were disqualified for failing to meet requirements, JCA became yet another international competition between EADS-CASA’s C-295M & Alenia’s C-27J. The C-27J team eventually won the delayed decision in June 2007, and prevailed in the subsequent contract protests from their rivals. What remained unclear was exactly what they had won. The joint-service decision and contract announcement didn’t end the inter-service and Congressional politicking, either, and the contractor side was equally fractious.

This FOCUS article covers the JCA competition, and subsequent developments. JCA is now a USAF-only program, and has been cut by over 70%, but purchases continue:

• Canned Feud: The Transport of Seville vs. the Spartan Salesmen
• C-27J: Hello, My Baby, Hello, My Honey…
• A Great Big Bunch Of You: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Stop, Look, and Hasten: Additional Readings

Displaying 309 of 6,355 words (about 16 pages)

---