Three USAF C-130 Aircraft Have Been Transferred to Royal Jordanian Air Force.

The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), U.S. Air Force (USAF), and the U.S. Embassy in Jordan celebrated the transfer of three C-130 transport aircraft from USAF to RJAF.  

RJAF has received two of the C-130 aircraft since September, with the third scheduled for delivery in January. The C-130 Ramp-to-Ramp (R2R) transfer program is the first USAF program to transfer fully active and functional assets to key security partners.

The three aircraft have received recent equipment updates and upgraded interoperable avionics and are being integrated now into the RJAF fleet. 

RJAF has been flying C-130s for over 50 years. The C-130 fleet supports the Jordanian Armed Forces through airdropping equipment, paratroopers, and cargo, non-military roles including support for disaster relief, humanitarian missions, and medical evacuation missions.  Last year, within days of the tragic explosion in Beirut, Jordanian C-130s were in the air delivering essential supplies to assist the Lebanese people. The RJAF Airlift Wing often deploy C-130s and Jordanian troops in support of UN and coalition operations in Africa and other regions. In follow up to the C-130 transfer, the USAF Mobile Training Team will provide basic and advanced training of Jordanian aircrew and maintenance crews, in line with the U.S. vision to provide a total package approach to capacity building for key security partners. 

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MOROCCO WILL RECEIVE UP TO 68 ADVANCED MIRAGE 2000-9 FROM UAE AMID TENSIONES WITH SPAIN AND ALGERIA FOR SPANISH WESTERN SAHARA AND SPANISH TERRITORIES IN NORTH AFRICA

The UAE will transfers its fleet of 68 Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets to Morocco, after purchasing 80 Rafale fighter jets from France. The Mirage 2000-9 fleet which currently equips the United Arab Emirates air force will be transferred to Morocco. 

In 2017, the Emirates signed a contract with Dassault Aviation to modernize around sixty Mirage 2000s. The UAE signed an agreement to acquire 80 Rafale, the largest obtained internationally for the fighter to be delivered from 2027. In this way, Morocco, after signing military agreements with the US and with Israel will now benefit from the weaponry that the UAE withdraws from its military. In this way, UAE will transfer up to his fleet of 68 Mirage 2000-9 fighters to Morocco. “The United Arab Emirates will deliver a series of Mirage 2000 Dash 9 fighters to Morocco, in the framework of friendship and military cooperation between the two sister countries” 

Mirage 2000 Dash 9 fighters are the most powerful version of the Mirage aircraft. Also, it is a special version only for the United Arab Emirates. It is still very powerful, and it has very advanced military technology, with a multimodal RDY-2 radar, a digital terrain tracking camera, an IMEWS countermeasures system with a Thomrad secure radio system with advanced cryptography and frequency hopping, LCD display screens and a digital recording system for four simultaneous displays, night vision goggles ( NVG) and an inertial gyroscope of the laser navigation system. This version of Mirage allows the simultaneous use of MICA IR and EM BVR anti-aircraft missiles, which is capable of attacking at distances of 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers). It is equipped with a type II core system architecture, like a next-generation aircraft. A whole tactical electronic warfare system through the adoption of interferometry technology. 

Military cooperation between the two countries is governed by a 2006 agreement with mixed military meetings held alternately in Rabat and Abu Dhabi. In the first quarter of this year, an Emirati military delegation headed by the Major General and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Emiratis met with the heads of the Moroccan Armed Forces and the Royal Air Force in Rabat. For its part, a high-level delegation from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces and the Moroccan Defense Administration participated in the two Defense exhibitions this year in Emirates, They also allow participating countries to close contracts with large international companies specialized in Defense. Behind this transfer of arms there is a political background of mutual support. It must be taken into account that the United Arab Emirates leans towards Morocco in reference to the conflict it maintains with the Polisario Front, and in its intention to implement an autonomy plan that annexes Western Sahara as the southern provinces. In 2020, the United Arab Emirates was the first Arab country to open a consulate in Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara. Action thanked King Mohamed VI, which he considered political in nature and not only merely consular, with hardly any Emirati citizens in the non-autonomous territory. Although it always made it a condition that Morocco reestablish relations with Israel, as it finally did a month later, in December 2020. Morocco has been working on rearmament since breaking diplomatic relations with Algeria and tensions with Spain. Tension in North Africa in the wake of the rift between the threeo countries has escalated significantly in the last three months. 

Authority over Western Sahara was the main trigger for ties that were key, especially gas supplies for countries such as Spain. The arms race between Rabat and Algiers is now experiencing a new chapter with the dispatch of a military fleet by the United Arab Emirates to the Alawi kingdom. new.in-24.com militarywatchmagazine moroccolatestnews El Español

Austria signs deal for 18 AW169 helicopters

Italy and Austria have entered into an agreement for the sale and procurement of 18 Leonardo AW169 multirole helicopters for the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer). 

Signed on 2 December at the Italian Ministry of Defence in Rome, the implementation phase of the agreement paves the way for a formal contractual agreement by 20 December and acquisition signature in mid-January 2022. 

Austria has earmarked between EUR300 million (USD340 million) and EUR400 million for the programme. 

 According to ARMAERO, the contract will cover six helicopters in the AW169B configuration, as well as up to 12 potentially armed AW169MA helicopters. Spares, training, support, and other items will be included in the sale. 

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UAE SIGNS DEAL FOR 80 RAFALE

The United Arab Emirates and France have signed a $19bn arms deal that will see the Gulf state acquire 80 Rafale fighter jets and 12 military helicopters. The largest-ever overseas sale of Rafale jets was sealed on Friday as French President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day trip to the Gulf, during which he will also visit Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 

The deal will directly support 7,000 jobs in France and guarantee the supply chain of the Dassault Aviation-made aircraft until the end of 2031, a French official told journalists. 

The UAE is taking F4-standard jets, becoming the first user for the variant outside of France. The F4 model Rafales, currently under development, will be delivered from 2027. 

By snapping up the fighter craft, the UAE is following the lead of Gulf rival Qatar, which has bought 36 of the planes. The on-off negotiations for the Rafale fighter jets took more than 10 years with Abu Dhabi publicly rebuffing France’s offer to supply 60 Rafale jets in 2011 as “uncompetitive and unworkable”. Abu Dhabi already has French-built Mirage 2000 warplanes. 

Defence sources said the Rafale would replace the Mirage 2000 fleet but is unlikely to displace the American-built F-35 as the UAE continues to hedge its security with two main suppliers, France and the United States. 

 The deal could nonetheless be seen as a signal of impatience as the US Congress hesitates on approving an F-35 deal amid concerns about the UAE’s relationship with China, including the prevalence of Huawei 5G technology in the country. Abu Dhabi also ordered 12 Caracal helicopters. It is the French code name for the H225M, the multi-role military version of the Super Puma. 

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