Italian aerospace and defense firm Leonardo will supply Saudi Arabia with four C-27J Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2029.
On February 16, 2026, Leonardo announced that the contract “marks the first time the C-27J MPA is procured with maritime weapon system integration capability”.
“In addition to its maritime patrol and surveillance capabilities, the C-27J MPA can carry a significant weapons payload to counter multiple threats, including torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and depth charges in accordance with the specific mission needs,” said a spokesperson for Leonardo.
Leonardo’s C-27J MPA is designed to deal with modern submarine and sea surface threats in order to enable effective Search and Rescue (SAR) services and perform transport and airdrop missions.
Leonardo said that the new maritime weapon system integration capability is “further evidence of the platform’s versatility” with the C-27J “able to uniquely combine transport, disaster response and multi-domain surveillance capabilities”.
The latest announcement follows a 2025 agreement for Leonardo to supply Saudi Arabia with two C-27Js for firefighting, cargo transport and medical evacuation tasks.
“This significant achievement confirms the strong bond between Leonardo and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said a spokesperson for Leonardo.
According to Leonardo, the C-27J MPA integrates a dedicated mission suite, including sensors optimized for detection, identification and tracking of surface and submarine targets.
This is managed by an advanced mission management system (the Leonardo Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance system) with data fusion capabilities.
The C-27J MPA retains all the features and capabilities of the C-27J Spartan Next Generation platform.
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