Non-Subscriber Extract
IDEX 2009: Jordan establishes ammunition production venture
By Christopher F Foss
25 February 2009
Jordan has established a new company that will enable the country to eventually become self-sufficient in all types of conventional ammunition.
Located about 45 km northeast of Amman, the Jordan Ammunition Manufacturing and Services Company (JORAMMO) is a joint venture between Jordan's well-established King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), Mecar of Belgium and United States-based DMV Holdings.
A significant feature of the JORAMMO site will be a state-of-the-art ballistics laboratory, enabling the company to test and monitor ammunition performance including velocity, pressure, accuracy and impact. This range will complement the existing facilities at KADDB.
JORAMMO's production equipment and associated infrastructure is currently being built but, according to the company's managing director, Brigadier General Bassam Issa, the facility is "on schedule to commence production of JAF [Jordanian Armed Forces] requirements by mid-October this year [2009]". First deliveries would then take place from next year.