Alenia Aermacchi and Italian Air Force sign agreement to provide development and industrialization of MC-27J Praetorian

Alenia Aermacchi (a Finmeccanica Company) and the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) signed, during the Dubai Airshow 2013, an agreement to provide development, testing, certification, industrialization and logistic support of the Praetorian. The Praetorian, a specialized version of the MC-27J, will support missions for the Italian Special Forces, Comando Operativo Forze Speciali (COFS). The Praetorian project will consist of two phases. During Phase One, Alenia Aermacchi will develop and deliver a prototype of the Praetorian to the Italian Air Force in spring 2014, immediately followed by testing in an operational scenario. Phase Two will encompass the industrialization of the Praetorian configuration and related logistic support. The Italian Air Force plan to transform three C-27J’s, currently in service, into the Praetorian configuration during 2016 and will include mission systems, C3ISR equipment and palletized support / fire systems. An additional three aircraft will also have the same mission package capabilities.