A still from Jordanian television shows Quantum-Systems Scorpion and Vector UAVs at Jordan's Unmanned Aircraft Directorate. (Jordan Radio and Television Corporation)
The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) revealed it has a dedicated Unmanned Aircraft Directorate on 1 October when its chief, Major General Yousef Ahmed al-Hunaiti visited the establishment.
The JAF released photographs showing it is located at the compound in Amman that included General Command's headquarters before they moved to a new site that was inaugurated in January.
In its coverage of the visit, Jordanian television reported that the directorate is responsible for identifying and delivering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that meet the JAF's requirements, as well as training personnel to operate and maintain them.
The footage showed various types of UAVs being displayed for Maj Gen Hunaiti that included both the Vector and Scorpion models made by the German company Quantum-Systems.
Already in service with several militaries, the Vector uses three electrically powered propellers to take off vertically, which then tilt forward to turn it into a conventional fixed-wing surveillance UAV. The Scorpion uses the same fuselage, controller, datalink, and sensors as the Vector but has non-tilting rotors.
Maj Gen Hunaiti was also shown an AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma, another type that was not previously known to be in service with the JAF, as well as several smaller multicopters, including one that was shown being flown by an operator wearing first-person-view goggles.
For more information, please see SOFEX 2022: Jordan launches UAV test centre .
Looking to read the full article?
Gain unlimited access to Janes news and more...
