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A Royal Australian Air Force C-27J Spartan during Operation Solania, Fiji. (Image: LSIS Susan Mossop)
Opinion: Don’t scrap the Spartans just yet
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Plans in the 2026 National Defence Strategy to retire the C-27J Spartan risk creating a capability gap, argues Steve Kuper.
The 2026 National Defence Strategy is right to emphasise self-reliance, regional deterrence and stronger partnerships, and the 2026 Integrated Investment Program puts serious money behind that agenda: around $425 billion over the decade, with an Air Force expected to deliver surveillance, air defence, strike and air transport.
On that logic alone, retiring the C-27J Spartan fleet feels like a false economy. The aircraft may not be glamorous, but they are precisely the kind of practical, flexible capability that turns strategy into effect.
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