Jordan Orders Gunships, Receives Camcopters

By: David Donald
March 4, 2011

Two Airbus Military CN-235 transports are to be modified to gunship configuration for the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

Jordan is to modify two of its Airbus Military CN-235 utility transports to a gunship configuration. A contract has been awarded to ATK for the work, which is being undertaken in conjunction with Jordan’s King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau. The work will be split between ATK’s U.S. facilities and those of KADDB in Jordan.

ATK has been developing “gunship lite” concepts for some time, having offered the AC-27J Stinger II to the U.S. Air Force, and the concept can be applied to a number of high-wing transport types. For the Royal Jordanian Air Force’s CN-235s, ATK will provide the STAR mission system that integrates ISR sensors and fire control, as well as weapons. Hellfire missiles, rocket pods and other stores can be hung from outriggers that project from the undercarriage sponsons. In the rear fuselage the aircraft will have ATK’s M230LF 30mm link-fed cannon fitted. This is a version of the Chain Gun that arms the AH-64 Apache.

Separately, the Austrian company Schiebel announced it has delivered two S-100 Camcopter unmanned air systems to KADDB, ordered last July on behalf of the Royal Jordanian Air Force. The Camcopters are equipped with the L-3 Wescam MX-10 EO/IR payload, which made its first flight on the air vehicle in January.

Source: Aviation International News (AIN).
Link: http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/jordan-orders-gunships-receives-camcopters-28893/.