Royal Jordanian Navy

Royal Jordanian Navy القوة البحرية الاردنية
Founded	October 1920
Current form	March 1956
Service branches	Royal Jordanian Army Royal Naval Force Royal Jordanian Air Force Joint Special Operations Command Jordan Royal Guard Royal Maintenance Corps General Intelligence Department King Abdullah Design and Development Bureau
Leadership
Commander	King Abdullah II
Related articles
History	Desert Force Arab Legion Transjordan Frontier Force
Ranks	Jordanian military ranks

The Royal Jordanian Navy is the Naval entity of the Jordanian Armed Forces. As Jordan is landlocked except at its southern extremity, with only 26 kilometres (16 mi) of shoreline along the Gulf of Aqaba providing access to the Red Sea, its Naval Force comprises 27 patrol boats, and has a total complement of more than 700 excluding 77th Marines Reconnaissance Battalion. The Naval Force is under the command of the army.^[1]

The Royal Coast Guard was established at Aqaba in 1951, with its headquarters moving to the Dead Sea area in 1952, remaining there until 1967. The Royal Coast Guard was renamed the Royal Naval Force on 13 November 1991.^[2]

As of July 2010 the Commander of the Navy is Major General Dari al-Zaben.^[3]

History

The Royal Naval Force was established in 1951 as the Royal Coast Guard. It was established in Aqaba. Its size was about that of an infantry company i.e.,circa 200 men. In 1952, the Coast Guard Headquarters was moved to the Dead Sea area and remained there until 1967. In 1974, The Coast Guard was provided with four medium patrol boats (Bertram Class) and with equipment for the divers and frogmen.

The naval element of the armed forces, although designated the Royal Jordanian Navy, remained an integral part of the army. Performing essentially a coast guard mission, in 1988 it had 300 officers and men based at Al Aqabah, the country's only port, with access to the Red Sea. The navy operated five coastal patrol boats of United States manufacture armed with light machine guns. The navy assisted in the maintenance of harbor security, operating in conjunction with customs and immigration personnel to ensure the enforcement of the country's laws and regulations. In late 1987, three larger craft of ninety-five tons each were ordered from Britain. When introduced, each would have a crew of sixteen and would be armed with 20mm and 30mm guns. Israeli units at the adjacent Israeli naval facility at Elat similarly consisted of small, lightly armed patrol boats.

In 1991, the Coast Guard was provided with three heavy patrol boats (Hawk Class). On 13 November 1991 the Royal Coast Guard was renamed as the Royal Naval Force.^[4]

As part of the IDEX 2009 exhibition, Dr. Moayad Samman, Chairman and CEO of the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (Kaddb), will be signing a joint venture agreement with Mr. Mark T. Hornsby Managing Director of RiverHawk Worldwide LLC to establish Jordan RiverHawk Shipbuilding and Support, PSC. Kaddb and RiverHawk Worldwide LLC agreed on establishing Jordan RiverHawk Shipbuilding and Support to manufacture, market and supply AMP-137 Advanced Multi-mission Platform Vessels, Provide training and service and maintenance on each vessel sold, Explore the development of other vessels for customers in the region as well a provide maintenance services for other vessels. The partnership with Kaddb will allow RiverHawk Worldwide to exchange the know-how with the Bureau and to benefit from the skilled workforce to manufacture top of the line vessels to be marketed to the Jordan Armed Forces as the number one customer to Kaddb and then to the region.^[4]

Royal Naval Units

Members of the Jordanian 77th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion verify scope settings

• Combat Vessels Group
• Naval Frogmen Group
• 77th Marines Reconnaissance Battalion
• Naval Special Boat Unit
• Counter-terrorism Team from JSOC CTB-71
• Marine Surveillance Company / Aqaba
• Marine Surveillance Company / Dead Sea
• Technical Support Group
• Maritime Training Center

Patrol boats

• 3 × Al-Hussein class (VT Hawk) (2 × 30 mm guns, 1 × 20 mm gun, 2 × 12.7 mm machine guns)^[3]
• 2 × Al-Hashim class (Type 412) (1 × 12.7 mm MGs)
• 8 × Abdullah class (2 × 12.5 mm MGs)
• 4 × Faysal class (Bertram) (1 × 12.7 mm MGs)
• 4 × Faysal class (Commander) (2 × 12.5 mm MGs)
• 4 × AMP-137 PB built by KADDB.^[5][6][7]
• 2 × Falcon class ( Rafaiel remote controlled ) (1 × 7.62 mm MGs)

Special Maritime Forces

• 8 × RHIB Boats for Special Forces
• 4 × 17 foot launch
• 4 × 19 foot GRP
• 2 × Light craft SRB For Special Forces

Naval infrastructure

• Naval base: Aqaba

References