1
Lt. Col. Charles E. Miller (USAF), Airlift Doctrine, AU Press, Maxwell AFB, AL, 1988, p. 311.
2
Robert Frank Futrell, Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force,
1961-1984, vol. II, AU Press, Maxwell AFB, AL, 1989, p. 313.
3
Jane’s Aircraft Upgrades, Shorts C-23 Sherpa, November 9, 2007, online.
Order Code RS22776
Updated October 10, 2008
Military Airlift: The Joint Cargo
Aircraft Program
Allan Hess
National Defense Fellow
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) is a joint acquisition program between the Army and
Air Force intended to procure a commercial off-the-shelf aircraft capable of meeting
Army and Air Force requirements for intra-theater airlift. The C-27J Spartan, built by
L-3 Communications, was awarded the JCA contract in 2007. This is an update of a
report by William Knight and will be updated as conditions warrant.
Background
The Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) is a small, intra-theater airlifter being procured by
the Army and Air Force. Small airlifters have filled niche roles for the Department of
Defense (DOD) over the past several decades, flying missions to deliver time-sensitive
cargo, transport important personnel, evacuate casualties, and resupply austere operating
locations. During the Vietnam War, the Air Force flew C-123 Providers while the Army
used C-7 Caribous for intra-theater airlift.
1
A source of inter-service tension, C-7
ownership transferred to the Air Force in 1966, but the Air Force continued to fly them
attached to Army units.
2
With funding scarce after Vietnam, the Air Force retired both
the C-7 and C-123 without replacement.
In the 1980s, the Air Force bought 18 C-23 Sherpas to move supplies between
European bases. After the Cold War, six Sherpas were transferred to the Army before 40
more were acquired and assigned mostly to Army National Guard units.
3
In 1991, the Air
Force purchased 10 C-27A Spartans for operations around Howard AFB, Panama, but
