Mothballed by Air Force, Cargo Planes Find New Life with Coast Guard
Posted By: Hope Hodge Seck July 14, 2016
FARNBOROUGH, England — It’s a Cinderella story. Three years after getting sent to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, a freshly refurbished C-27J Spartan sported Coast Guard colors on the flight line at the Farnborough International Air Show this week.
The Coast Guard activated its first four-plane squadron of the Leonardo-Finmeccanica aircraft this month at its Sacramento Air Station in California, culminating an effort to retrieve and re-purpose the aircraft that began with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014.
Some 21 of the $50 million planes were bought new beginning in 2007, but sent directly to Davis-Monthan in the Tucson desert due to fiscal concerns exacerbated by 2012 “sequestration” defense cuts under the Budget Control Act. Now, the Coast Guard has 14 of the aircraft, seven of which have completed a six-week regeneration process that includes inspections and operational testing.
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