HOMELAND SECURITY

Countering The Emerging Nexus

Of Threats
Jordan has already taken steps to secure its borders, but further measuresboth manned
and unmannedare needed if it is to adequately address evolving security threats.
By Matthew Hedges

he Royal Kingdom of Jordan is an

inherently fragile state balancing
the traditional East Bank
Bedouins and West Bank Palestinian
refugees, many of whom were exiled
to Jordan following the establishment
of Israel in 1944. After the 1994 peace
accord signed by the late King Hussein,
Jordan and Israel have enjoyed warm
relations ensuring that Jordans western
border remains peaceful. To the south,
Jordan borders Saudi Arabia, with
whom it shares numerous cultural and
tribal connections; most signicantly
the Hashemite Royal Family, which
Jordans King Abdullah descends from.
As a result, Jordan and Saudi Arabia
maintain a close relationship, and whilst
there is a large border between the two
kingdoms, it is relatively secure.
It is, however, Jordans northern
borders that are the predominant source

of conict and strife. The Gulf Wars with

Iraq resulted in many refugees entering
Jordan, and as a result of the Iraqi
militarys weakened security capabilities,
criminal activities were allowed to
proliferate across the Iraq-Jordan
border, culminating in the 2005 Amman
bombings of three Jordanian hotel
lobbies. The attacks were perpetrated
by three Iraqi men (and an unsuccessful
female suicide bomber) under the
direction of the head of the Iraqi branch
of Al-Qaeda, Jordanian-born Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi.
Meanwhile, Jordans other northern
border with Syria has, in the last few
years, been the predominant focus
of strategic management and force
revision. Protests and revolts that
sparked the Syrian civil war started in
southern Syria and the northern border
was a natural crossing point for Syrian

Jordanian Armed Forces soldiers manoeuvre to new

ghting positions during a mission readiness exercise
(Photo by Sgt. Youtoy Martin)

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civilians to avoid the Assad regimes

repercussions. The exodus of Syrians
has created cities in the desert, where
extremism and other criminal behaviour
is allowed to ourish. Furthermore, in
response to the growing conict in Syria,
US Central Command (CENTCOM)
established a regional forward operating
base codenamed CF-J in Northern
Jordan.

CONTEMPORARY BORDER
SECURITY
The Jordanian Border Guard has four
divisions that divide the management of
Jordans borders. The 1st Border Guard
Brigade is responsible for the Iraqi
parts of the Syrian border, whilst the 2nd
Border Guard Brigade is responsible for
Jordans northern border with Syria and
Israel. The 3rd Border Guard Brigade
covers the central (and western) border

HOMELAND SECURITY

Further focus on the JBSP will look to

advance and connect mobile capabilities
into the network.
In addition, via the Defence Threat
Reduction Agency (DTRA), a US
government programme for combating
weapons of mass destruction, Raytheon
was awarded a $35.9 million contract in
2013 as part of the Cooperative Threat
Reduction (CTR) Integrating Contract
(CTRIC II). The contract will see Raytheon
train and assist the development of
Jordans border security personnel.

BEEFING UP JORDANS
SECURITY
Members of the Jordanian Armed Forces chase a role player posing as a border runner during a
border security training exercise in support of Exercise Eager Lion 2014
(Photo by US Sgt. James Hall)

with the Palestinian territories and the

4th Border Guard Brigade is responsible
for Jordans southern borders with
Saudi Arabia, Israel and the southern
port of Aqaba. The Jordanian Border
Guard also has its own dedicated
Communications, Command and Control
(C3) unit.
Jordans borders have faced a number
of threats from Israeli incursions against
Palestinian guerillas, Syrian support for
the Palestine Liberation Organisations
Black September coup attempt on the
late King Hussein in 1970, and more
recently, an attempt by ISIL or
Daesh to enter and overthrow the
Hashemite regime.
Traditionally, Bedouin soldiers with
limited access to technology, manned
Jordans border guard. Manned patrols
by military and internal security forces
provided Jordan with a basic border
security capability. But with an increase
in regional hostilities and a warming of
relations with Israel there has been an
increased focus on the development of
border security capabilities.
In 2008, DRS Technologies
(later acquired and absorbed into
Finmeccanica) was selected to
implement the rst phase of the
Jordanian Border Security Programme
(JBSP). The project worth an estimated
$300 to $400 million, included
sensors, xed observation towers and
an array of C2 equipment to help the

Jordanians advance their border security

requirements. The timing of the deal
meant that Jordans northern border with
Iraq was the focus of modernisation.
Jordans border with Syria saw
surveillance towers erected across a 30
mile stretch at a cost of approximately
$20 million.
The rst phase of the JBSP was
completed in September 2009, and the
second and third phases along the Iraqi
and Syrian borders, are expected to be
completed by the end of this year. This
will see a fully operational fence with
sensors and communication equipment
to protect Jordans northern border.

Acknowledgement of the nancial

strain and lack of specialised equipment
the Jordanians possess, resulted in
its allies donating equipment to assist
Jordan in protecting its borders.
Immediate support saw the deployment
of US Patriot missile systems to northern
Jordan, which in combination with other
aerial assets, successfully intercepted
numerous air threats originating from
Syria and Iraq. Furthermore, when ISIL
ghters made a run for the Jordanian
border, the Jordanians repelled them
with assistance from US forces.
The threat posed by ISIL prompted
the allocation of $200 million for the
development of a Jordanian Quick
Reaction Force (QRF). The UK was
instrumental in the construction of the
QRF, helping to organise and train a
500-strong unit, which can be mobilised

Jordanian Armed Forces border security training exercise (Photo by Sgt. James Hall)
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HOMELAND SECURITY

Jordanian Armed Forces M113 Armoured Personnel Carriers attack a simulated invasion force during a mission readiness exercise at the JAFs Joint
Training Centre, Jordan (Photo by Sgt. Youtoy Martin)

to counter any potential threat that

ISIL may pose to Jordan. The UK also
expressed its intention to donate a 2.5
million package comprising a range of
non-lethal equipment, transport vehicles,
body armour, communications and
IT equipment. The US delivered eight
Black Hawk helicopters to Amman in
March this year, and are due to send
another eight in 2017. In addition, the
US diverted four Yemen-bound AT-802s
and the Israelis donated 16 AH-1 Bell
Cobra attack helicopters to Jordan.
Jordans military operates on a low
nancial budget, resting on the laurels of
predominantly Foreign Military Financing
(FMF) and a highly professionalised and
motivated military (a somewhat rare
occurrence in the region).
There is a close relationship between
international defence contractors and
the Jordanian defence industry, more
signicantly the King Abdullah Advanced
Design Bureau. Most maintenance,
repair and overhaul services are
undertaken by Jordanian companies
in a bid to reduce operational and
ongoing costs, as well as to train and
educate Jordanians in a bid to develop
indigenous technical capabilities.

In 2015, Jordan received $385

million in FMF from the US, and looks
set to receive more assistance in 2016;
some estimates suggest they will receive
around $450 million. This is one of
the largest allocations of FMF to any
nation in the world and when viewed
in the context of Jordans 2016 budget
(the debt to GDP ratio is estimated
to be around 90%), Jordan is heavily
dependent on foreign aid for the
running of its public sector.

SYRIAN TREMORS
Jordan continues to feel tremors from
the conict in Syria and on the 2 March
2016, a counter-terrorism operation
undertaken by Jordans 71st Battalion in
the northern city of Irbid resulted in the
deaths of seven ISIL members and the
death of a Jordanian soldier. Jordan will
establish a counter-ISIL centre, which is
aimed at disrupting extremist narratives
and discourse.
Jordan has reached its capacity to
accommodate Syrian refugees and is
now facing the task of integrating them
into society. Whilst any further border
security measures that may be taken on
its northern border will not greatly affect
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68

its current demographic, it will ensure

that any further attacks by ISIL, and other
terrorist organisations, do not succeed in
disrupting a regional ally.
With the JBSP implemented as
planned, Jordan will require further
manned and unmanned solutions to
allow it to efciently manage its evolving
threat nexus. It will be necessary to nd
cost-effective platforms, as Jordan has
neither the funds nor the manpower
to spare.
Jordan has been gifted capabilities,
however these were delivered in
response to threats, and not in preemption of them. Aerostats and other
static surveillance equipment would be
of great advantage in this environment
when used in combination with an
increased number of unmanned
aerial vehicles. Q

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matthew Hedges holds a Masters
Degree in International Relations of the
Middle East from the University of Exeter
and is a PhD candidate at the University
of Durham where he is researching
defence and security policy in the GCC.