Restructuring

Restructuring Jordan’s Air Force

By David Oliver

Jordan is restructuring its Air Force to maintain its fleet of the F-16A/B fighter aircraft. © USAF

The Hasemite Kingdom of Jordan has been in the front line of Middle East conflicts for decades. More recently it has played a pivotal role in coalition operations against ISIL militants in neighbouring Syria and Iraq. With no oil and limited resources, Jordan has had to face the challenge of maintaining its defence spending. Although it has been bolstered by the United States and the hosting of coalition fighter aircraft, in 2019 Jordan had to reappraise the size and strength of its air force. In order to balance the defence budget and sustain its large fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft, in June 2019 Jordan’s armed forces posted its intent to sell 23 fixed-wing aircraft that include two Airbus C295 medium transport aircraft and one Lockheed C-130B operated by 3 Squadron at Amman-Marka, two CASA AC235 gunships modified by ATK in conjunction with the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) and operated by 32 Squadron, and 12 former UAE Air Force BAe Hawk Mk.63s.

Jordan has also sold two Ilyushin Il-76MF heavy transports operated by Jordan International Air Cargo, which was founded in 2004 and owned and operated by the Royal Jordanian Air Force. Earlier this year the Russian arms trade agency Rosoboronexport confirmed that it had approved the resale of two Ilyushin Il-76MF military transports from Jordan to Egypt. The Egyptian Air Force will become the only operator of the Il-76MF, a stretched version of the Soviet-era Il-76MD transport. In addition, six RJAF CH-4B Rainbow armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been offered for sale only three years after they were delivered, which are in service with No 9 Squadron of the Prince Al-Hussein Bin Abdullah II ISR Wing alongside Schiebel S-100 Camcopter VTOL UAVs which will be retained. Designed by the China Aerospace Science and

The RJAF’s is offering for sale its two Airbus C295 transport aircraft that were converted to gunships. © USSOCOM

Technology Corporation (CASC), the mediumaltitude long-range (MALE) UAV is in service with the armed force of neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Eight UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters operated by RJAF’s 30 Squadron of the Prince Hashim Bin Abdullah II Royal Aviation Brigade at the King Abdullah II Air Base to support Special Forces which entered service in at the end of 2007 are also up for sale. They are being replaced by 12 new UH-60Ms that have been delivered for service with 8 Squadron. Three UH-60Ms are operated by the Jordanian Royal Flight in the VIP transport role.

Through the security assistance provided by the US embassy’s military training office in Jordan, the RJAF sends pilots to train on the UH-60M at the US Army helicopter training school. In 2018 the United States committed US$425 million to the Jordan Armed Forces for training and equipment to enable Jordan to achieve its security objectives.

At the end of 2018 the Jordan Armed Forces established a Unified Helicopter Command designed to streamline logistics and maintenance sustainment across the various rotary platforms including Special Operations Forces (SOF) and Quick Reaction Force (QRF) missions and to better integrate the air and ground forces for mission planning synchronisation. The UH-60L Black Hawks were operated by the Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC) on SOF duties alongside six armed MD 530F Little Bird helicopters originally purchased via the US

The RJAF is disposing of its Chinese armed CH-4B Rainbow medium-altitude long-range (MALE) UAVs. © David Oliver

Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawks are replacing the RJAF’s fleet of UH-60L helicopters. © David Oliver

civilian sector in 2006 that are also for sale. In 2010 Jordan’s Government signed a letter of intent with Boeing to acquire AH-6i light attack helicopters to replace the MD 530Fs, but to date this has not been converted to a firm contract.

Seven Eurocopter EC135 light utility helicopters have been withdrawn from service and replaced by surplus US Army UH-60A Black Hawks, and invitation for bids for 13 out of the RJAF’s fleet of 36 Bell UH-1H transport helicopters operated by 8 Squadron at King Abdullah II Air Base was issued in July 2018. Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuils have been withdrawn from use for helicopter training with 5 Squadron and sold to the US civilian market by 2018.

Eight RJAF Robinson R44s equipped with Garmin and Aspen avionics are now in service with 5 Squadron at the Air Training College at King Hussein Air Base at Mafraq which are supplemented by the Golden Eagle Aviation Academy (GEAA) which is the first Jordanian helicopter training school that was established at Amman-Marka in 2015 to provide training for military rotary-wing students in partnership with the RJAF with a fleet of Robinson R44 Raven IIs.

In 2018 Jordan offered 17 of its fleet of 48 AH1F Cobra attack helicopters for sale, along with spare parts. Eight had been sold to Pakistan in 2011 and the extant fleet includes 16 former Israel Defence Forces/Air Force AH-1 Tzefas that were donated by Israel to Jordan in 2015 to help fight Islamic State militants in Syria. A sign of the RJAF’s wide ranging modernisation programme is the comprehensive upgrade of 12 of its extant Cobra fleet carried out by Science & Engineering Services (SES) at its Huntsville facility in Alabama. On behalf of the US Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC), SES was awarded a US$77.9 million Direct Commercial Sales contract that includes Foreign Military Financing and national funds, and a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) component.

The upgrade includes a new glass cockpit based on the Northrop Grumman Integrated Avionics System, an L3 Wescam MD-15D multi-sensor multispectral targeting system replacing the laser range finder and tracker and a passive self defence suite comprising the Orbital ATK AAR-47 mis

EDR | March/April 2020 One of 12 RJAF ‘s AH-1S/F Cobra attack helicopters being upgraded by Science & Engineering Services (SES) in the United States. © USASAC

RJAF AS 332M1 Super Pumas remain in service with 7 Squadron although they may also be offered for sale this year. © David Oliver

sile approach warning (MAW) system and active countermeasures including the Extant Aerospace ALE-47 chaff/flare dispensers. Automatic Stabilisation Equipment (ASE) and Rockwell Collins ARC programmable digital communication system will also be installed. The SES upgrade includes Lockheed Martin M310 AGM 114R Hellfire launchers in addition to 70 mm unguided rocket launchers. The RJAF plans to install software for the use of the BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) when the last of the upgraded Cobras are delivered to 10 Squadron at King Abdullah II Air Base at the end of the year. The contract includes training for four instructor pilots and up to 40 maintenance personnel in Jordan.

A state visit to Kenya by Jordan’s King Abdullah culminated in the signing of a military training and cooperation pact between the two countries and the acquisition of at least two AH-1F Cobra attack helicopters from the RJAF. The Philippines and Jordan have had a long diplomatic relationship and after President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Jordan in 2018 both sides placing attention on the shared threat of terrorism, a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation was signed between the Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) and the Jordan Armed Forces. Two ex-RJAF AH-1Fs will be delivered to the Philippine Air Force.

Nine AS 332M1 Super Pumas remain in service with 7 Squadron based at King Abdullah 1 Air Base at Amman-Marka although there are reports that they will also be offered for sale this year. The only new rotary-wing type being introduced into RJAF service apart from the UH-60Ms, is the Mil Mi-26T2 ‘Halo’ heavy lift helicopter. The T2 variant features the BREO-26 night and day all-weather avionics suite, a new digital autopilot and Navstar/ GLONASS satellite navigation system, and a glass cockpit with five multi-functional LCDs. The threeman RJAF Mi-26 aircrews, who included former Cobra and Super Puma pilots, have undertaken a six-month training course at the Rostvertol plant in Rostov-on-Don where more than 330 Mi-26s have been produced since 1980.

Four ‘Halos’, which can carry 82 fully equipped troops or 20 tonne of cargo, have been delivered to a new RJAF unit, 26 (Falcon) Squadron at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base at Zarqa near the Syrian

Four Mil Mi-26T2 heavylift helicopters have been delivered to the RJAF with an options for two more although their role is unclear. © David Oliver

Two RJAF PZL Mielec M28-05 Skytrucks have been converted for the ISR role in the United States by Sierra Nevada Corporation. © David Oliver

border. It has been reported that Jordan has option for two additional Mi-26T2s but this has not been confirmed and the type’s role has yet to be defined.

The RJAF’s fixed-wing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability has been expanded. Students from the RJAF’s recently formed ISR Wing received training centered on UAS and ISR missions and processes in the UK. The British supplier of defence training, Inzpire was able to use their expertise to deliver tailored ISR training courses to a cohort of RJAF personnel at its Training Academy in Lincoln.

The RJAF’s ISR fleets have also been expanded recently with the introduction into service of eight Iomax/Air Tractor AT-802i two-seat turboprop light attack/surveillance aircraft which were developed from the Air Tractor crop sprayer. Six aircraft were donated to Jordan by the UAE in 2015. In RJAF service with 25 Squadron at Amman-Marka, the aircraft are being upgraded to increase weapon options. Iomax in Mooresville, North Carolina modified the first aircraft to Block 1B standard in 2018 when the aircraft received a new armament control system and the weapons pylons were strengthened to allow the carriage of the 227 kg (500 lb) GBU-12 Paveway II while the Roketsan Cirit laser-guided rocket becomes a weapons option.

The AT-208is are supplemented by six Cessna AC208B aircraft operated by 15 Squadron. Derived from the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan, the counter insurgency (COIN) variant was developed under the US Combat Caravan programme for the Iraqi Air Force. The AC-208B provides a strike capability using two Hellfire missiles on underwing pods and is complimented with a suite of sensors including an L3 Wescam electro-optical (EO) targeting system with an integrated laser designator, air-toground data link and communications equipment for ISR missions and integrated self-protection equipment.

No 3 Squadron at Amman-Marka operates two PZL Mielec M28-05 Skytruck twin-turboprop short-take-off and landing (STOL) transport aircraft that were delivered in 2014 and that have subsequently been converted for the ISR role in the United States. This comprised the installation of a defensive aids/communications upgrade by Sierra Nevada Corporation to bring them up to a standard similar to the US Special Operations Command’s C-145A Skytruck.

Two new European training aircraft have replaced three types of RJAF trainers at the King Hussein Air Training College at Mafraq. Sixteen Grob 120TP basic turboprop trainers have replaced a legacy fleet of 16 Slingsby T-67 primary trainers and two Socata TB-20 basic trainers serving with 4 Squadron at the Air Training College at Mafraq, one of which was lost in December 2017. Two of the Grobs were donated by Germany as part of a military assistance package.

In 2015 the RJAF planned to order the Pilatus PC9M turboprop trainer but changed the order in 2016 to 10 Pilatus PC-21 plus an option for two

additional aircraft, to serve with 11 Squadron at Mafraq replacing CASA C101CC Aviojets, which have been sold to Chile, and former UAE Air Force Hawk Mk.63 in the advanced and tactical training roles. These two state-of-the-art turboprop trainers will provide an ideal cost effective introduction to operational air combat training on RJAF F-16 combat aircraft in the future which is carried out on two-seat F-16BMs at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base at Zarqa under a Lockheed Martin contract.

Jordan had acquired dozens of second-hand F-16s from America’s NATO allies in Europe including Belgium and the Netherlands, between 2008 and 2017 under the Peace Falcon III to Peace Falcon VI initiatives. The RJAF’s three F-16 squadrons are located at Shaheed Muwaffaq Al-Salti Air Base.

The US has approved the sale of three surplus USAF C-130H transport aircraft to supplement three operated by the RJAF’s 3 Squadron © David Oliver Ten Grob 120TP basic trainers are part of the RJAFs new fleet of state-of-the-art turboprop training aircraft. © David Oliver

The RJAF has been in the process of disposing of some of its older F-16s in recent years, including selling 12 Block 15 F-16As to Pakistan in 2014. In 2019, the US company Jet Lease based in Florida revealed that it had acquired three F-16s, two F-16AM and an F-16BM Block 20 Mid-Life-Update (MLU) aircraft that were imported from Jordan.

In October 2019 the US House of representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs granted the transfer of 15 surplus F-16s for parts reclamation to the government of Jordan as a spares source for the RJAF’s F-16AM/BM fleet. It also approved the sale of three surplus USAF C-130H Hercules transports to Jordan to supplement the three operated by 3 Squadron at King Abdullah I Air Base.

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