BEIRUT — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has contracted four C-27J maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) from Italian firm Leonardo — the first customer to do so with “maritime weapon system integration capability,” the company announced.
“This significant achievement confirms the strong bond between Leonardo and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, increasing the number of C-27Js ordered by KSA users, following the recent (Summer 2025) in-country acquisition of two units dedicated to firefighting, cargo transport and medical evacuation tasks,” the company said in a Monday statement.
In 2025, Saudi oil giant Aramco procured two C-27 J aircraft for commercial use making the Saudi navy the second local operator of the aircraft.
The C-27J MPAs that Saudi Arabia is procuring integrate a dedicated mission suite which includes detection sensors and surface and submarine targets tracking according to the company’s statement.
“The C-27J fills Saudi Arabia’s long-standing gap in fixed-wing maritime patrol for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. The Kingdom had shown interest in a similar platform (Boeing’s P-8A Poseidon) in 2017, though the sale never materialized,” Albert Vidal, a research analyst for the London-based thinktank IISS told Breaking Defense.
The contract comes after a $200 million “acquisition of torpedoes from Italian firm WASS, which could be integrated into the aircraft.”
The acquisition of the four C-27 J MPAs could be “part of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing naval modernization, partly driven by continued Iranian maritime threats, regional instability, and the need to strengthen deterrence, maritime domain awareness, and operational reach at sea,” Vidal noted.
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Ali Bakir, defense analyst and professor at Qatar University, added that the aircraft “would provide Saudi Arabia with practical operational flexibility — moving personnel, equipment, and supplies into remote or short-runway locations — and for support missions such as medical evacuation or maritime sustainment.”
Bakir said Saudi Arabia “faces exposure to vital maritime corridors and energy infrastructure and modernization of air and naval assets improves protection of those interests. At the same time, force expansion aligns with long-term replacement of aging systems, improving deterrence credibility, and maintaining the capacity to operate with partners in regional or coalition settings.”
Delivery of the first batch of C-27 J MPAs to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces is expected to commence in 2029, making the Kingdom the 21st operator of the aircraft.