King Abdullah II of Jordan has ordered structural changes to the country's military to cope with technological changes and "expanding areas of operations".
“We direct you to devise a comprehensive strategy and a clear road map to achieve a structural transformation in the Armed Forces over the next three years,” the king told army head Maj Gen Yousef Huneiti, according to a statement published by the Royal Palace on Saturday.
Jordan has a defence pact with Washington, the main arms supplier and trainer for its 100,000-strong army. The kingdom also engages in security co-operation with Israel, as stipulated by the 1994 peace treaty between the two countries. However, the king has strongly criticised Israel for its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
In the past eight years, Jordan has been fortifying, with western support, its borders with Syria, the region's main exporter of the illicit Captagon amphetamine.
The king said that the military transformation is aimed at “keeping up with the nature of modern hybrid and untraditional wars” and “rapid changes and emerging challenges brought on by technological developments and expanding areas of operations”.
“We aspire to have efficient, adaptable, and highly qualified Armed Forces, which we must continue to arm, train, and equip to handle modern combat methods,” said the king, who has ruled since 1999.
Jordanian authorities have been dealing with the impact of the Gaza war and finding a new equilibrium with Damascus, where the government is led by President Ahmad Al Shara, who led a rebel offensive that overthrew the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad in December 2024.
The authorities have intensified a crackdown on dissent since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, and imposed limits on protests in support of Palestinians that were mainly organised by the Muslim Brotherhood and its sympathisers. In April, Jordan imposed a ban on the activities of the brotherhood after a dozen of its members were implicated in an alleged armed plot against the kingdom.
The king highlighted “cyber defence and offence operations” and “drone and artificial intelligence technologies” as a priority. He said the army's research and development division must become a “hub” for the manufacturing of advanced defence technologies and be accompanied by a restructuring of “the funds and investment companies” affiliated with the army.
“I look forward to receiving this strategy and road map, so that it may be adopted and implemented immediately,” he said.
