Jordan sides with Israel in its conflict with Iran
On April 14, Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16 fighters were scrambled to intercept numerous Iranian kamikaze UAVs aimed at Israel on a strike mission as part of Operation True Promise in response to the air raid on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus two weeks earlier. Thus, Amman sided with Tel Aviv in its conflict with Tehran, confirming defense ties with the West and Israel, writes Military Watch.
The publication notes that the take-off of the Jordanian planes was one of the most significant and direct military interventions by an Arab state in support of Israel in history and highlights the close ties that Tel Aviv has established with Western-oriented Arab monarchies, of which Jordan and Morocco can be called leading . In addition, Jordan has since 2011 played a key role in supporting the military efforts of the West, Israel and Turkey against the neighboring Syrian Arab Republic, which has been a leading adversary of Tel Aviv and Washington since the early years of the Cold War.
Jordan has received military aid from Israel in the past, including second-hand aircraft supplied in the 2010s, with the two armies frequently conducting joint exercises. These ties have caused significant controversy within Jordan following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in November 2023, accompanied by massive civilian casualties, leading leading regional and Western sources to declare an ongoing genocide against Gaza. A large portion of Jordan's population is of Palestinian origin, further exacerbating the Jordanian state's difficulties in maintaining a visible connection with Israel
- specified in the material.
The Jordanian Air Force first acquired F-16 fighters in the 90s, and they were armed with relatively modern missiles, unlike those in Egypt and Iraq. Amman now has 47 F-16s, with the first 16 fighters ordered in 1995 and delivered in 1997-1998.
On January 19, 2023, the Jordanian Ministry of Defense placed an order for 12 F-16 units of the latest Block 70/72 version worth $4,21 billion, making these fighters one of the most expensive ever sold to the United States. At more than $350 million per unit, including associated weapons and maintenance, the aircraft costs almost 3 times more than those ordered by Taiwan in 2019 ($125 million per airframe). That is, they are even more expensive than the latest fifth-generation F-35s purchased by Israel at $120 million apiece.
The Iranian strikes ultimately demonstrated that should the conflict widen, Tehran and other Western adversaries would face not only Western, Israeli and Turkish forces, but also supporting forces from a number of Western-aligned Arab states
- summed up the media.
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