Saudi Arabia has struck a new defence deal with Italian aerospace group Leonardo, adding advanced maritime patrol planes to a fast-growing arsenal aimed at watching – and controlling – the seas around the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia buys four C-27MPA maritime patrol aircraft
Leonardo has confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence has ordered four C-27MPA aircraft, a maritime patrol variant of the C‑27J Spartan tactical transport. The deal gives the kingdom a dedicated capability it largely lacked until now: long-range airborne surveillance of submarines and hostile activity at sea.
Saudi Arabia is set to field four C-27MPA aircraft from 2029, adding anti-submarine, anti-ship and search-and-rescue firepower to its navy.
The aircraft will be delivered to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) starting in 2029, according to details shared by Leonardo. The contract follows a previous Saudi order placed in August 2025 for two C‑27J airframes configured for cargo transport, firefighting and medical evacuation.
The new agreement pushes the C‑27J platform deeper into the Saudi inventory and signals confidence in Leonardo’s push to market the Spartan as a multi-role workhorse, not just a military transport.
What the C-27MPA brings to the Saudi navy
The C‑27MPA is a compact but heavily equipped maritime patrol aircraft designed to monitor sea lanes, track submarines and surface vessels, and support rescue operations. Built on the same airframe as the C‑27J, it swaps pure cargo space for sensors, consoles and weapons.
Saudi Arabia’s C‑27MPAs will be fitted with a full suite of systems aimed at modern undersea and surface threats.
- ATOS mission system for integrated tactical management
- Active electronically scanned array (AESA) search radar
- Electro‑optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret
- Magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) for submarine hunting
- Acoustic subsystem to process sonobuoy data
- Electronic intelligence (ELINT/ESM) collection gear
- MU‑90 lightweight torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare
- Marte-ER anti-ship missiles for surface strike missions
The Saudi C‑27MPA configuration turns a tactical transport into a compact anti-submarine and anti-ship platform armed with MU‑90 torpedoes and Marte‑ER missiles.
The MU‑90 torpedoes, supplied by WASS – a subsidiary of Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri – will give the RSNF a modern weapon specifically tailored to fast, deep-diving submarines. Riyadh has already notified a separate €200 million contract with WASS for these torpedoes.
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Marte‑ER anti-ship missiles, produced by European missile house MBDA, will allow the aircraft to engage surface targets such as corvettes, fast attack craft and hostile logistics vessels from stand‑off ranges.
Why this deal matters for Saudi maritime security
Saudi Arabia sits astride some of the world’s most contested waters. The Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf all feature in Riyadh’s security planning, with piracy, smuggling, Iranian influence and the lingering fallout from the Yemen conflict at play.
Until now, the kingdom’s focus has largely been on surface fleets, coastal radars and US-made aircraft for general maritime surveillance. Dedicated anti-submarine patrol planes were a missing piece. The C‑27MPA order aims to plug that gap.
| Need | How the C‑27MPA responds |
|---|---|
| Submarine detection | MAD sensor, sonobuoys, acoustic processing, MU‑90 torpedoes |
| Surface surveillance | AESA radar, EO/IR sensor, ELINT/ESM for emissions tracking |
| Maritime strike | Marte‑ER missiles against ships and high‑value surface targets |
| Search and rescue | Wide-area radar sweeps, long on-station time, EO/IR imaging |
Leonardo says the Royal Saudi Naval Forces will become the 21st operator of the C‑27J family. Across all users, the Spartan fleet has accumulated more than 290,000 flight hours, strengthening its image as a proven but still adaptable platform.
Italy scores a win in a heavily US-dominated market
The contract is also a political and industrial signal. Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia has leaned heavily on US suppliers for its air and naval build-up. In 2025 Riyadh signed a raft of US defence agreements reportedly worth around $142 billion, including packages to bolster coastal and maritime security.
Landing a Saudi maritime patrol deal is a significant success for Leonardo, given Riyadh’s huge parallel commitments to American defence firms.
That context makes the C‑27MPA order noteworthy. Observers had widely expected Saudi Arabia to turn to US-made platforms for dedicated maritime patrol, such as additional Boeing P‑8A Poseidons, rather than an Italian airframe.
Leonardo’s win nudges open the door for more European equipment in a Saudi market where American and, increasingly, South Korean bidders have dominated large naval and air programmes.
How the C-27MPA fits into Leonardo’s broader strategy
For Leonardo, the sale validates years of effort to reuse the C‑27J airframe for specialised missions. The company has pitched variants for maritime patrol, signals intelligence, firefighting and humanitarian relief, betting that mid-sized air forces and navies want modular aircraft instead of multiple dedicated fleets.
The C‑27MPA variant leverages the same ATOS mission system that Leonardo already supplies on other platforms, including the P‑72A maritime patrol aircraft flown by Italy. This helps the firm offer a kind of “family” of solutions, where sensor suites, consoles and training share common elements across different airframes.
Competition with P-8A and Japanese P-1
On the global stage, the C‑27MPA competes with heavier, longer-range aircraft such as Boeing’s P‑8A Poseidon and Japan’s Kawasaki P‑1. Those jets can carry more fuel, more weapons and more crew, but they also cost more and require bigger operating bases.
Italy’s own air force currently uses ATR‑72MP / P‑72A turboprops for maritime patrol missions, a stopgap solution introduced after the retirement of its Breguet Atlantic fleet in 2017. Italian officials have openly weighed future replacements, mentioning both the P‑8A and the Kawasaki P‑1, while the C‑27J MPA remains under consideration.
Saudi Arabia’s choice of a medium-sized, multi-role turboprop suggests a preference for flexibility and cost control instead of an all-in bet on large jet-powered patrol aircraft.
What “maritime patrol” really means in practice
Maritime patrol aircraft are sometimes seen as just “planes with radars”, but their daily missions can be more complex than a typical fighter sortie. Crews spend hours on station, scanning the sea surface and water column for faint signs of activity.
A typical mission profile for a Saudi C‑27MPA could look like this:
- Take off from a coastal base and transit to a designated patrol box in the Red Sea or Arabian Gulf.
- Use AESA radar to build a wide-area picture of shipping, fishing fleets and unknown contacts.
- Switch to EO/IR sensors to visually confirm suspicious vessels and flag potential smugglers or traffickers.
- Deploy sonobuoys in patterns across a suspected submarine route and use the acoustic system to listen for engine noise or propeller signatures.
- Track any contact through a mix of radar, acoustic data and electronic emissions, building an intelligence record.
- In a crisis scenario, close in and launch MU‑90 torpedoes against a hostile submarine or fire Marte‑ER missiles against an armed surface threat.
Outside wartime, the same aircraft can support search-and-rescue after a ferry accident, spot oil spills, or help intercept smugglers and illegal fishing operations. The versatility is one reason smaller and mid-sized nations gravitate toward multi-role MPAs like the C‑27MPA.
Risks and questions around the new capability
The new planes also raise questions. Integrating a sophisticated anti-submarine system is not just about buying hardware. Saudi crews need intensive training in acoustic analysis, tactical coordination and maintenance of sensitive sensors.
Weapons like MU‑90 torpedoes and Marte‑ER missiles require strict safety procedures and secure storage. Political leaders must decide under what rules of engagement these systems can be used in crowded waterways where civilian shipping lanes, fishing boats and rival naval units overlap.
There is also the regional angle. Extra Saudi eyes and weapons in the air over the Red Sea and Gulf could unsettle Iran and other neighbours, who may respond with their own upgrades to submarines, coastal defences or electronic warfare systems. That dynamic risks a slow but steady maritime arms race.
Key terms behind the headlines
Several technical acronyms sit at the heart of this deal and shape what the aircraft can actually do:
- ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance): Leonardo’s mission system that fuses radar, cameras, acoustic and electronic data onto operator screens, giving the crew a single tactical picture.
- MAD (Magnetic anomaly detector): A sensor boom, usually at the tail, that detects minute disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by the metal hull of a submarine.
- ESM/ELINT (Electronic support measures / electronic intelligence): Equipment that listens for radar pings, radio traffic and other electromagnetic emissions, helping identify ships and submarines without them being visually visible.
- MU‑90: A European lightweight torpedo designed to engage fast, deep-diving submarines in both deep and shallow waters.
- Marte‑ER: An extended-range anti-ship missile, launched from aircraft, that flies low over the sea to hit ships at distance.
For Saudi Arabia, stitching all of these elements together on the C‑27MPA creates more than a new aircraft type. It builds a networked maritime sensor and strike layer that connects to ships, helicopters and command centres – and subtly shifts the balance of surveillance power across the region’s crowded seas.
Originally posted 2026-02-02 17:42:30.