JORDAN
Leslie Serapion
Jordan Factpage CMO
BACKGROUND
Jordan was ruled by
King HUSSEIN (1953-1999). King ABDALLAH II - the eldest son of King HUSSEIN and
Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following his father's death in February
1999.
GEOGRAPHY
Location: Middle East,
northwest of Saudi Arabia
Area:
total: 92,300
sq km
land: 91,971 sq km
water: 329 sq km
GOVERNMENT
conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
conventional short form: Jordan
local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah
local short form: Al Urdun
former: Transjordan
Government Type: Monarchy
Capital: Amman
MILITARY
Jordanian Armed Forces includes:
-Jordanian Land Force
-Royal Naval Force
-Royal Jordanian Air Force
-Ministry of the Interior’s Public Security Force (under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)
Military age: 18 years old
Military manpower availability: 1, 458, 571 (2001 est.)
Availability of manpower reaching military age annually: 57, 131 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures: $508.9 million (FY 98/99)
Minister of Defense: Ali Abul Ragheb
Jordanian military consists of the army, navy, air force and civil militia.
Total active military forces: 98,6000; reserve personnel: 35,000
Jordanian Army contains 90,000 personnel, divided into 2 armored divisions (2 tank, 1 mechanical infantry, 1 artillery, 1 air defense brigade; 2 mechanical infantry, 1 tank, 1 artillery, 1 air defense brigade; 1 independent Royal Guard brigade; 1 special forces brigade; 1 field artillery brigade.
Equipment:
The Jordanian navy operates out of the port of Aqaba. Total naval force numbers 600 personnel.
Surface Combatants:
Some 8,000 officers and airman support 102 combat aircraft and 24 armed helicopters.
Trainers: 16 Bulldog, 15 C-101, 12 PA-28, 6 PA-34, 12 F-5A/B, 2 F-1B hel, 8 Hughes 500D
Civilian Forces
The civil militia (People’s Army) has about 200,000 men and women. Members serve until 65 years of age.
General Intelligence Department
A civilian organization, which is responsible for dealing with, perceived domestic and foreign threats to security. A high-ranking army officer answerable directly to the prime minister and a close personal adviser of Hussein heads it.
Given Jordan's limited resources and state of development, the maintenance of its modern armed establishment has been possible only with extensive reliance on foreign aid. The sources of military assistance have shifted somewhat during the different periods of the country's existence; however, until the 1980s, Jordan had looked primarily to Britain and the United States for military material. During the 1980s, France emerged as an increasingly important supplier of combat aircraft, and the Soviet Union increasingly supplied air defense systems. To a great extent, major acquisitions have been purchased on generous credit terms, with financing of the military debt made possible by grants from other Arab countries.
From the time the amirate was created in 1921, British aid took the form of direct annual subsidies in conformance with a special treaty relationship. Britain continued to underwrite the entire cost of the Arab Legion until early 1957, when the defense treaty was dissolved by mutual consent. During the last years of the subsidy, the annual payment for the legion was the equivalent of about US$33.6 million. After 1957 a British-reinforced army brigade and an RAF squadron remained in Jordan for a short period and contributed significantly to the preservation of political stability and internal security. British aid, no longer part of a treaty commitment, eventually tapered off to a moderate level of military sales.
American military aid began on a small scale in 1950, but in 1957 the United States became the kingdom's principal source of assistance in meeting its national security needs. In the mid-1970s , however, conditions imposed by the United States during lengthy negotiations leading to the sale of Hawk SAMs initiated a period of increasing strain in the relations between the two countries.
Hussein's growing independence in purchasing military material was facilitated in part by his strengthened ties to other Arab countries after Jordan joined them in opposing the United States sponsored 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. During the Baghdad Summit of Arab leaders in that year, oil-producing Arab states of the Persian Gulf area, plus Libya and Algeria, pledged to compensate Jordan in the form of US$1.25 billion annually for ten years for its rejection of the accords. Following the precipitous drop in oil prices, however, most countries reneged on their commitments or made only partial payments. By 1984, it was estimated that Jordan was receiving only US$550 million annually, and only Saudi Arabia was current on its pledge. When the Baghdad Summit commitments expired in 1988, Jordan continued to look to Saudi Arabia, which in that year supplied an estimated US$350 million in assistance.