Fairchild C-26 Metroliner

The Fairchild C-26 "Metroliner" is the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner series twin turboprop aircraft in the service of the United States military. It was not officially named by the US Armed Forces, but is unofficially known by the same name as its civilian counterpart. The C-26A is the military version of the Model SA227-AC Metro III; the C-26B is the military version of the Model SA227-BC Metro III and Model SA227-DC Metro 23; and UC-26C is the military designation for the Model SA227-AT Merlin IVC. The C-26D provides rapid-response transportation for supplies and personnel to remote airfields.

Design and development The United States Air Force bought eleven C-26A aircraft based on the SA227-AC,Turboprop Production Lists Home Page Metro production list accessed via this site 25 August 2007. two of these being supplied to the Venezuelan Air Force.Baugher, Joe. "USAF FY1986 Serial Number list." USAF Aircraft. Retrieved: 11 June 2011.Verified by conducting an online search of the Fuerza Aérea Venezolana database at on 25 August 2007, using the serial numbers "0009" and "1964". It would appear that the USAF took delivery of two aircraft serialled 86-0456 and the first (Fairchild c/n AC-745B) was passed to the FAV as 0009, the second being procured to replace that aircraft. The USAF FY1986 Serial Number list has 86-0455 (Fairchild c/n AC-744B) going to the FAV, but the other sources show it was 86-0456/AC-745B. The first three C-26Bs were procured later in the 1980s, two for the US Army and one for the USAF. These three had been built as SA227-BC models. Later C-26Bs were the military equivalent of the Metro 23 and the USAF took delivery of 37 examples. Some of these were transferred to the Peruvian Air Force and the US Army, while six were transferred to the US Navy as C-26Ds.Baugher, Joe. "USAF FY1990 Serial Number list." USAF Aircraft. Retrieved: 11 June 2011.Baugher, Joe. "USAF FY1991 Serial Number list." USAF Aircraft. Retrieved: 11 June 2011. The US Army also took a second-hand Merlin IVC and operated it as the solitary UC-26C.

A Metro III, c/n AC-614, was modified as the Fairchild Aircraft/Lockheed Multi Mission Surveillance Aircraft, featuring a Lockheed phased array radar in a long pod under the fuselage."Coastwatch Tender to Usher In New Age of Surveillance." Australian Aviation magazine No. 93, December 1993, pp. 24–27. Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. ISSN 0813-0876. Several aspects of the MMSA aircraft were incorporated on some USAF C-26s redesignated as the RC-26B, operated by the Air National Guard (ANG) in various states. These aircraft have been primarily used for Department of Defense reconnaissance mission support to various agencies of the Department of Homeland Security such as the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the war on drugs, and to USCG and/or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the wake of natural disasters."C-26." Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved: 11 June 2011. The RC-26B aircraft were originally configured with a belly pod containing a sensor turret and a data recorder.Picture of the Fairchild RC-26B Metro 23 (SA-227DC) aircraft Retrieved 21 August 2011. Recently, this pod has been removed and a sensor turret has been added to the belly of the aircraft.Picture of the Fairchild RC-26B Metro 23 (SA-227DC) aircraft Retrieved 21 August 2011. Some of the RC-26Bs were operated for a time with civil registrations.Picture of the Fairchild RC-26B Metro 23 (SA-227DC) aircraft Retrieved 21 August 2011.Picture of the Fairchild RC-26B Metro 23 (SA-227DC) aircraft Retrieved 21 August 2011. On 4 February 2019, a contract for Elbit Systems of America to provide an avionics upgrade to the Air National Guard's RC-26Bs was announced.Pittaway Air International March 2019, p. 31.

The U.S. Navy operates several C-26D aircraft, modified for range support, at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands in Hawaii.Picture of the Fairchild C-26D Metro 23 (SA-227DC) aircraft Retrieved 21 August 2011.Picture of the Fairchild C-26D Metro 23 (SA-227DC) aircraft Retrieved 21 August 2011. The C-26A has also been used as a trainer for U.S. Navy test pilots.

Operational history In early June 2020, the US National Guard deployed an RC-26B to El Dorado Hills near Sacramento, California, apparently in response to a walking tour by young black entrepreneurs. The deployment occurred without the knowledge or approval of Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California. Three more RC-26Bs were used to observe demonstrators in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

In January 2023, the U.S. Air Force retired its RC-26B Condors.

Variants C-26A Military version of the Metro III (Model SA227-AC). C-26B Military version of the Metro III (Model SA227-BC) and Metro 23 (Model SA227-DC). RC-26B C-26B modified with electronic surveillance equipment for drug interdiction missions.Airman, 2007 special edition, published by the USAF. Ten remained in service with the Air National Guard as of March 2019, but all were retired during 2023. UC-26C Was a used 1983-built Merlin IVC operated for several years as 89-1471.Baugher, Joe. "USAF FY1989 Serial Number list". USAF Aircraft. Retrieved: 11 June 2011. Modified with an integrated sensor package including forward-looking infrared and high resolution radar. C-26D C-26Bs transferred from USAF inventory and modified with new navigation equipment for the US Navy, four used for rapid response cargo and passenger transportation in Europe. EC-26D One range support aircraft operated by the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. RC-26D Two range support aircraft operated by the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands with installed radar units. C-26E Upgrade of 11 C-26B aircraft including an improved Rockwell Collins Proline 21 Electronic Flight Instrument System.

Operators Barbados Barbados Air Wing – Regional Security System 2 C-26A Colombia Colombian Air Force Colombian National Police Mexico Mexican Air Force - 2 as of December 2018.Hoyle Flight International 4–10 December 2018, p. 49. Peru Peruvian Air Force - 3 as of December 2018.Hoyle Flight International 4–10 December 2018, p. 52. Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard - 2 as of December 2018.Hoyle Flight International 4–10 December 2018, p. 57. United States United States ArmyHoyle Flight International 4–10 December 2018, p. 59. 11 SA-227 Metro (C-26E) as of January 2025 United States Navy Venezuela Venezuelan Air Force - 1 as of December 2018.Hoyle Flight International 4–10 December 2018, p. 60.

Former United States United States Air Force 745th Special Operations Squadron

Specifications (C-26A)

Fairchild C-26 Metroliner

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