AMMAN – Jordan has entered the second stage of a U.S.-backed project to
train the military's special forces.
Under the plan, the Special Forces Training Center would serve both
kingdom as well as regional militaries that seek to develop special
operations forces.
All three facilities envisaged would contain areas for
live-fire training as well as equipment for SWAT teams, peace-keeping forces
and counter-insurgency units, Middle East Newsline reported.
Phase one of the project was completed in 2003 in a contract awarded to
AIS and Raytheon Technical Services Co. This initial phase called for the
development of training sites at Aqaba, Zarqa and Yajuz. Yajuz has been
designated as the largest of the training centers.
Industry sources said the second stage was to design a training center
for the Special Operations Forces Command. They said the project has been
led by the military-owned King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau
[KADDB] along with U.S. contractors.
In January 2005, KADDB signed a contract with the U.S. firm Advanced
Interactive Systems for the second phase of planning of the King Abdullah II
Special Forces Training Center. This phase would result in a design of the
center and the preparation of tenders for required facilities in a project
financed by U.S. military aid.
The sources said the three facilities would not be identical. Yajuz
would contain an urban warfare range, a tactical range, a drivers range, an
outdoor range, vehicle and aircraft mock-ups. Aqaba would provide training
in maritime counter-insurgency techniques. Zarqa would host a sniper range
of one kilometer in length.
