Spurred partly by the crisis in Syria, with which Jordan shares a long border, and partly by a need to replace and upgrade aging types, the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) is in the process of receiving new or upgraded aircraft. At the biennial SOFEX special forces show held last week at Amman’s Marka airport, no fewer than eight aircraft types made their public debuts in RJAF colors.
Dominating the static display was the RJAF’s first Mil Mi-26T2 heavy helicopter, which was delivered in January from an order for four. The T2 is the current-production version with a BREO-26 digital avionics suite and a five-screen cockpit, permitting night/all-weather operations by a flight deck crew of two, instead of the five required to fly the original design. The Mi-26 was initially attached to the RJAF’s No. 7 Squadron at Marka, which flies Super Pumas. However, No. 26 Squadron has been formed to fly the Mi-26s.
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