The MC-27J Spartan: The Baddest Gunship the USAF Will Never Fly [Monster Machines]
After a decade of deployment in Afghanistan and Iraq, the wings are literally falling off the USAF's aging fleet of AC-130s. The Air Force thought about upgrading them to the new MC-27J Spartan multi-purpose gunship—but budget cuts nixed that idea. The Airmen will miss out on quite a machine. The Spartan is a 60-troop multipurpose cargo plane, developed by Italy's Alenia Aermacchi over the last year, and very similar in design to the C-27A currently in service. It is primarily a tactical cargo plane, popular among the special forces for its ability to take off on short runways, fast transfer speed, and 3,200 NMI range. But the MC-27J also features a RO/RO (roll on/roll off), pallet-based option system that allows it to be employed on a variety of missions. Like choosing the the Luxury versus Sport package on a 5-series BMW, the Spartan can be modified to suit a particular mission type. Unlike the 5-Series, however, the RO/RO system allows the Spartan to change between various ...