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 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 expressed an interest in acquiring two additional F-16 batches, enough to equip two more RJAF squadrons. It was agreed that a total of 17 surplus Block 15 OCU ADF aircraft (13 As and 4 Bs) would be acquired, and Congress gave its approval on June 14, 2000. They will join 12 F-16As and 4 F-16Bs leased from the USAF since 1997 and in service with 2 Squadron at Al Azraqa. The first of these were handed over to the RJAF on January 29, 2003.
Sources:
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Military Aviation Review, World AirPower Journal, Vol 33, 1998.
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Military Aviation Review, World AirPower Journal, Vol 28, 1997.
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Arab Air Power Survey, Part 2, Air Forces Monthly, No 142, January 2000.
- Airscene Headlines, Air International, March 2003.
