Jordan's armed forces are upgrading their mobile fleet with 22 M88A1 recovery vehicles as part of a foreign military sales case with the U.S. Army.
Twelve vehicles were shipped to Jordan in "as-is" condition. An additional 10 vehicles will undergo refurbishment and be brought back to their original condition.
The M88A1 is one of three variants of the Army's M88 recovery vehicle. The M88A1 is considered a "medium recovery vehicle" and is a full-tracked armored vehicle used in rescue and recovery missions. It is capable of supporting battlefield hoisting, winching and towing operations to include evacuation of other tracked combat vehicles or heavy tanks.
All of Jordan's remaining vehicles are scheduled to be in-country by the spring and were available through the Army's Excess Defense Articles program.
The EDA program allows for our country's allies to receive materiel that the U.S. government no longer uses. Equipment designated under the program can save the U.S. money by eliminating potential storage or disposal costs of materiel and make room for other items to be stored as they are returned from theater. Through the EDA program, there is also the potential for the industrial base to support parts, refurbishment and sustainment of the vehicles.
This current FMS case for Jordan began in March 2013 and is supported by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command and TACOM (an AMC life cycle management command), which are all members of the Army's security assistance enterprise.
Candice Turner, the Jordan country program manager with USASAC, said Jordan is a mature FMS customer and very knowledgeable of the EDA process. She also added that refurbishment will take place at the Anniston Army Depot, or ANAD.
"Jordan has toured ANAD before and used their facility," Turner said. "They were impressed with their work."
In addition to the vehicles, Jordan will also receive training and maintenance for the M88A1s.
"On FMS cases we always strive to include the total package approach," Turner said.
The TPA for a FMS case can include anything from materiel, facilities, training, publications, technical documents and maintenance support.
By April 2015, the remaining ten vehicles are expected to arrive in Jordan. According to Turner, the fleet will be used to assist in security and protecting the country's borders from enemy invasions.
"Jordan is one of the U.S. allies," she noted. "Assisting them to better protect their country will always be one of our highest priorities."
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