General Dynamics F-16A/B
Fighting Falcon for Jordan
Last revised March 19,
2000
When Jordan signed a peace treaty with
Israel in July of 1994, it became a de-facto US ally, and thus elegible for modern
American weapons. The Royal Jordanian Air Force agreed on July 29, 1996 to lease some
early-model F-16A/Bs. The five-year lease consists of of 12 F-16A and four F-16Bs, all of
which were taken from AMARC storage. All of the F-16As and one of the F-16Bs were
previously ADC versions. Before delivery, the planes were overhauled and upgraded by the
Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB in Utah before delivery. Included in the upgrade
was the fitting of of the F100-PW-220E engine
The Royal Jordanian Air Force received
their first F-16s during December of 1997. They re-equipped the RJAF No. 2 Squadron based
at Mowafaq Al Salti-Al Azraq, which previously had operated CASA 101s.
Jordan is interested in acquiring two
additional F-16 batches, enough to equip two more RJAF squadrons.
Sources:
- Military Aviation Review, World AirPower
Journal, Vol 33, 1998.
- Military Aviation Review, World AirPower
Journal, Vol 28, 1997.
- Arab Air Power Survey, Part 2, Air Forces
Monthly, No 142, January 2000.
