The Royal Jordanian Falcons (صقور الأردن الملكية) is the national aerobatic demonstration team of the

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levan ...

. The team was formed on the orders of King

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

in 1976. It was initially led by American pilots Dave Rahm and Steve Wolf, but Rahm was killed in a 1976 crash during a performance in front of Hussein. The team used two and subsequently three Pitts S-2A Specials before changing to Walter Extra EA300s in 1992. Later, in 2007, the team's fleet was upgraded, the older Extra 300s were replaced by Extra 300Ls. The team displays with four aircraft and has a fifth as a backup. In 2018, the team switched to the Extra 330LX, replacing the older Extra 300L trainer aircraft. The team was formerly based at

Amman Civil Airport Amman Civil Airport ( ar, مطار عمان المدني, Maṭār ʿAmmān al-Madaniyy), commonly known as ''Marka International Airport'', is an unscheduled airport located in Marka district, Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan, some north-ea ...

, but has since moved to

Aqaba Airport Aqaba Airport ❲also known as King Hussein Int'l Airport ❳ ( ar, مطارالملك الحسين الدولي) is an airport located in the vicinity of Industrial City (Aqaba International Industrial Estate – ), northern suburb of Aqaba in ...

, also known as King Hussein International Airport. The Falcons are unusual in that the team is a joint military-civil venture. The pilots are all

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. History Early days Jordan gained independence in 19 ...

personnel and are selected competitively from the top RJAF pilots, to join the team for a 3–4 year posting. For the majority of the team's existence it has had five pilots and three to four engineers for each given season. The aircraft, however, are owned and maintained by

Royal Jordanian Airlines Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled ...

. The Royal Jordanian Falcons aim to promote interest in Jordan and its culture and to advance international goodwill. The Falcons have displayed at air shows and events in Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. At a number of air shows they achieved various accolades, including winning the

Royal International Air Tattoo The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a to ...

's Cannestra Trophy (best overseas flying demonstration) three times.

Royal Jordanian Falcons team (as of 2021)

*Maj. Riyad Ayyoub (general manager) *Maj. Ghazi Sadoun (director of operations) *Capt. Sharif Hatouq (chief pilot) *Capt. Jamil Zayyad (formation leader) *Maj. Tamer Majali (left wing) *Maj. Ahmad Al-Rababa’h (right wing) *Capt. Doraid Al-Lawama (solo/slot) *Doraid Lawama (coach) *Chief Eng. Riziq Haddad (chief of maintenance) *Eng. Thaer Al Shoufi (engineer) *Eng. Mohammad Malhas (engineer) *Eng. Bassam Rahamneh (engineer) *Khaled Sakarneh (engineer)

References

*
Royal Jordanian Falcons: History

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Royal Jordanian Air Force

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Aerobatic teams 1978 establishments in Jordan