Jordan has procured hundreds of military vehicles from the Netherlands to bolster its firepower and mobility on the ground.
Around 53 YPR infantry fighting vehicles and 200 DAF YA-4442 trucks in various configurations were recently shipped by Amsterdam on an unnamed Dutch vessel.
The vehicles are all obsolete, as some of them had been in service with the Netherlands Armed Forces for more than 30 years.
Despite being quite old for redeployment, the trucks and armored vehicles have all passed necessary assessments for international transfer and are still expected to become a notable addition to the Jordanian arsenal.
Neither the Netherlands nor Jordan have provided the vehicles’ expected date of deployment.
Logistical Challenges
Apart from the four-ton trucks and armored vehicles, the Netherlands has also transferred two containers of spare parts and tools.
The total weight of the consignment was 2.7 million kilograms (5.9 million pounds).
Because of the volume, the shipment had to be performed in four phases and utilize up to 75 tractor-trailer combinations.
They were also transferred by train to Eemshaven before being loaded onto a “lift-on/lift-off” ship hired by Jordan.
“It was quite a challenge to get everything to Eemshaven on time. We had to move forward under the motto ‘this is what we are going to do.’ With some adjustments here and there, we managed to get everything to Eemshaven as agreed,” disposal project head Lt. Col. Harry Jansen said.
Although the total value of the agreement was not disclosed, sources said the proceeds of the sale will go directly to the Dutch defense budget.