Slovakia has received the first of two Leonardo Aircraft C-27J Spartan medium transports, with the initial aircraft arriving in Kuchyni on 24 October.

It was ceremonially handed over the country's air force on 31 October.

C-27J Slovakia

Slovak defence ministry

"From the perspective of modernising our armed forces, this is another historical event. After the last [Antonov] An-26 aircraft was dismantled, our air force did not have a transport aircraft with such capacity," says defence minister Peter Gajdoš.

Bratislava originally selected the Spartan in 2008, but only agreed delivery terms in 2014. The second C-27J is due to arrive in early 2018.

C-27J Slovakia second

Slovak defence ministry

Source: FlightGlobal.com