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"Welcome to Falcon World" boasts an illuminated display at Muafaq Al-Salti Air Base, home of Squadron No. 2. As Jordan’s first unit to operate Fighting Falcons, the squadron is rapidly incorporating the aircraft into the RJAF since taking first delivery last December. "We have climbed the learning ladder very fast since receiving the F-16s," notes Rababah after returning from his sortie. "We’ve been busy getting the squadron off the ground, receiving the new jets, and preparing ourselves for upcoming instructor duties," he adds. With support from the Air Staff, his unit compressed a hectic schedule into a few months. "But we are motivated by the notion that we are creating a new operational capability for our nation with the F-16," Rababah explains.

F-16 crews at the squadron are enthusiastic about the new aircraft. As an experienced fighter pilot himself with an impressive 3,500 jet hours, Rababah appraises the F-16 as "the right aircraft for us. It gives us everything we need. It boosts our air defense potential enormously and provides us with a very able platform for ground attack at the same time."

Although only recently acquired, the F-16 has been on Jordan’s acquisition agenda since the late 1970s when Amman opted to purchase the F-16A/B aircraft. Instead, the US government offered the F-16/79 powered by the General Electric J79-GE-119 turbojet. Jordan declined the replacement as less useful to the needs of its air force.

Jordan’s consideration of the F-16 reopened in 1996 when President Clinton declared Jordan a major non-NATO ally. The declaration was preceded by the peace treaty signing between Jordan and Israel in July 1994.

A subsequent agreement forged between US Secretary of Defense William Perry and His Majesty King Al-Hussein in January 1996 paved the way for a comprehensive military modernization deal with Amman. By July that same year, the US and Jordan signed a letter of agreement to transfer sixteen F-16 Block 15 Air Defense Fighters—twelve F-16As and four F-16Bs. The agreement also included lease and material training support that together with the LOA created the Peace Falcon Program. Funded with $220 million, Peace Falcon provides upgraded airframes and engines, pilot and maintenance training, and support equipment and spare parts.

The sixteen F-16s were taken from the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, where they had been stored since June 1994 after serving the Air National Guard. The fighters were then transferred from AMARC to the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, for a complete overhaul. They were given a service life improvement program known as Falcon-UP, a structural modification program that expands the service life of the airframe to 8,000 hours. They were also fitted with Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220E engines and a ring laser gyro inertial guidance system.

Modified, upgraded, and refitted, the first Jordan-bound fighters took to the air 14 October 1997 and then were handed over to the RJAF in official rollout ceremonies at Hill AFB later that month. The first four RJAF Fighting Falcons touched down at Muafaq Al-Salti Air Base on 17 December of that same year. The last three F-16s arrived in March 1998. To support the Peace Falcon Program, Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems has fielded a technical services team at Muafaq Al-Salti, comprising an airplane general systems engineer, a weapons systems engineer, an avionics/flight controls systems engineer, and an avionics intermediate shop engineer. In addition, Lockheed Martin has a support team in-country helping the Jordanians activate their shop and flight line and working with and training their maintenance personnel.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair Ababneh, RJAF Chief of Staff, is impressed by the intense cooperation demonstrated in the Peace Falcon program. "This program has been going very smoothly," he says. "The cooperation between the United States and Jordan is proceeding in a very professional manner, which shows the effort and dedication of everyone involved in the program. It has been a great success."

A similar view is expressed by Carl Miller, lead engineer and senior representative for the Lockheed Martin team in Jordan. "The Jordanian maintenance technicians are very proficient and have a superior working knowledge of aircraft maintenance. They are anxious to master their respective specialties in support of the F-16," Miller notes. "The RJAF pilots are extremely professional, proficient airmen and quick to relate with the technological advances of this modern aircraft. Their well-developed flying skills give them an edge in transitioning to the F-16 Fighting Falcon," he adds.

The RJAF is not benefiting from only US support. "To get the maximum out of the project, we also learned from the experiences of other F-16 operating nations in the region, like Turkey and Pakistan," the RJAF Chief of Staff points out. "Other countries helped us set up a management system for our spare part procurements."

Pilot and maintenance training of the Jordanian crews forms a major element of Peace Falcon. The initial batch of eight RJAF F-16 pilots all of them former F-5 and Mirage F.1 pilots with substantial experience received training in the United States. The first group of three pilots was dispatched to the Arizona ANG at Tucson, Arizona, for F-16 instruction in November 1996. They were followed by a second group of five pilots in May 1997. About 100 RJAF maintenance technicians were trained for the F-16 in the United States as well. In November and December last year, most of the RJAF air and ground crews returned to Jordan to prepare for the arrival of the first F-16s. This preparation involved establishing a new squadron for the F-16s, Squadron 2 at Muafaq Al-Salti Air Base.

Recently reestablished, the squadron has a long and distinguished service history and, as such, exemplifies the evolution of the RJAF during the past decades. The squadron traces its roots to 1958 when it was first established with the twin-boom de Havilland Vampire jet aircraft at King Abdullah Air Base at Amman-Marka. The squadron relocated four years later to Mafraq Air Base to receive Hawker Hunter fighters before progressing to the F-5A/B in 1974 as one of the instruction squadrons of the King Al-Hussein Air College at Mafraq. In 1984, the squadron exchanged F-5s for the Spanish-built CASA C.101 Aviojet trainers. In December 1997, the squadron was deactivated at Mafraq and reestablished at Muafaq Al-Salti Air Base when it was nicknamed Falcon World as a tribute to RJAF’s first Fighting Falcon unit.

At Muafaq Al-Salti, the F-16s operate alongside the RJAF’s Mirage F.1 fleet. Until recently, these units were organized into Squadron 1 and Squadron 25, operating the Mirage F.1EJ and F.1CJ, respectively. As Squadron 2 adopted the F-16, Mirage operations were concentrated into Squadron 1. The new F-16 unit moved into facilities previously occupied by Squadron 25. But the air base, a relatively new installation, was transformed from a forward operating base into a full-scale air base in 1981 to house the Mirage F.1s. On that occasion, the base received its present name after 1st Lt. Al-Shaheed Muafaq Al-Salti, an RJAF fighter pilot killed in action when his Hunter was downed in an aerial engagement in November 1966.

The decision to select Muafaq Al-Salti to house the F-16s was an easy choice. "The air base has a lot of infrastructure and plenty of good facilities," Ababneh explains. "It proved very cost-effective to move the F-16s here. In addition, the central location of the base suits it for the F-16’s air defense mission, though economical reasons were also a large factor."

In spite of abundant facilities frequently used by USAF fighter units on deployment to Jordan, the air base was modified to prepare for the F-16s. "We have built a brand new base inside the air base," says Brig. Gen. Talal Abu Qamar, the air base commander at Muafaq Al-Salti. "The new facilities include new shops and a new maintenance hangar. We also reinforced the shelters and aircraft maneuvering area as well as the main taxi area for the F-16s."

The introduction of the F-16 to the RJAF brought a few organizational innovations, too. "When Squadron 2 was established with an F-16 maintenance group," explains Qamar, "we introduced a new organizational concept that is more in line with the F-16’s two-level maintenance philosophy. We had to bring the first line of maintenance into the flying squadron."

With its full complement of aircraft now in place, the RJAF is the first operator of the F-16 air defense fighter outside the United States. "The F-16 ADF suits our operations perfectly," Ababneh notes. "Our Air Force is defensive in nature and our daily operations are largely dedicated to air defense. To put our defensive disposition in figures," he continues, "our fighter units are committed to sixty percent air-to-air and forty percent air-to-ground. Our use of the F-16 is tilted even more toward air defense," he adds.

In anticipation of the squadron’s air defense mission, eight RJAF F-16 pilots trained in the United States to become instructor pilots. These pilots then went through a conversion continuation course and an instructor pilot upgrade course under the supervision of a USAF F-16 pilot as soon as the first F-16s arrived at Muafaq Al-Salti. They are now training an initial group of eight students that joined the squadron last February.

The flying activity of the F-16s in that initial period was intense. "During the first few months here, we flew as much as we could. We often flew together with the F.1s to increase our tactical expertise on the F-16," Rababah explains. "We also trained for pair leader and section leader and prepared to carry out functional check flights with the F-16s." The next phase was to set up a training curriculum for the F-16 students. "We have set up a computer documentation system that we call computer basic training," Rababah continues. "This system allows our pilots to learn independently with the computer."

The students arrived for academics training last February before advancing to the actual flying instruction in May. When this group of students is fully qualified on the F-16 later this year, the squadron will attain operational status. More pilots will be arriving at the squadron as well. Once operational, Squadron 2 will insert its F-16s in the air defense alert duties that the Mirage F.1s perform at Muafaq Al-Salti Air Base. For missions like these, the RJAF F-16s will be complemented by the AIM-9M Sidewinder and the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile to optimize air defense. These armament will give the RJAF F-16s a similar, though more sophisticated, missile capability compared to the Mirage F.1 with its Matra Super 530 radar missiles and the Matra R.550 Magic infrared missiles.

King Al-Hussein characterized the arrival of the F-16 to the RJAF last December as, "A very major step toward developing our air force." The King’s words expressed well what was in the hearts and minds of every member of the RJAF. The establishment of Squadron 2 is regarded as the first step to acquire the Fighting Falcon. Not surprising, therefore, Jordan is striving to obtain additional F-16s to further develop the capabilities of its air force.

"We hope we will be able to get more F-16s to replace our F-5s in the near future, as the F-5s proceed to the end of their operational lives," explains the RJAF’s Chief of Staff. The RJAF currently operates three squadrons of F-5E/Fs, which are mainly tasked with ground attack and reconnaissance missions. "Our goal ultimately is to have three or four squadrons with F-16s on strength," Ababneh admits. He is convinced of the key role the RJAF Fighting Falcons will play in Jordan’s continuing efforts in the Middle East peace process. "The stability and security in the region require strong Jordanian armed forces," he says. "The capability of the F-16 contributes greatly to our efforts to defend the sovereignty of Jordan and supports Jordan’s stabilizing role in our region."