The purpose of this research is to determine how the Air Force can fill the tactical intra-theater cargo airlift role for the Army, based on current airlift requirements and platforms. In 2004, the US Army and US Air Force both began pursuing a small, more capable, fixed-wing aircraft for intra-theater airlift operations. The C-27J Spartan was chosen to be the Joint solution with both Services scheduled to receive aircraft. In 2010, federal budget reductions removed the C-27J from the Army inventory, transferred the program over to the Air Force, and reduced the projected number of delivered aircraft from 78 to 38.
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