Jordanian king opens KADDB's ASELSAN Middle East company

His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces, on Monday, opened a Jordanian-Turkish company specializing in the development and production of state-of-the-art night vision and thermal imaging systems.
The new firm, ASELSAN Middle East PSC LTD (AME), is a joint venture between KADDB and Turkey's defense electronic systems manufacturer ASELSAN Corporation. The project aims at designing and manufacturing world-class, high-tech and advanced night vision devices to meet the needs of the Jordan Armed Forces, as well as for export purposes in the region.
The company, which is fully run by Jordanian professionals in technical and engineering fields, is considered a hub for future partnerships between KADDB and ASELSAN in the defense industry to serve Jordan and the region's markets.
During a tour of various sections of the project, His Majesty the King was briefed on the manufacturing process of military equipment for night vision and thermal monitoring and the company's main products, which include various types of night-vision goggles.
Director General of KADDB, Maj. Gen. Omar Obaid al-Khalidi, said the establishment of this company comes as a continuation of His Majesty the Supreme Commander's directives to launch partnerships with global corporations interested in transferring technology to Jordan.
Al-Khalidi told Petra: "The company began, two years ago, to prepare infrastructure, technical configuration and personnel training to manufacture and assemble night vision and imaging systems, and today we produce about 35 percent of night vision materials. In the future, there will be a quantum leap in the development of these products for the benefit of Jordan's economy in general, and Jordan Armed Forces in particular." He stressed that the company will cover the Jordan Armed Forces' needs of night vision equipment and plans to enter regional and global markets in the future.
ASELSAN Board Chairman, Hasan Canpolat, said the new company, which started production today, is a step on the road towards further industrial cooperation between Jordan and Turkey and will expand the scope of business and partnership in the near future.
He noted that the company will develop technical cooperation with Jordan through attracting Jordanian engineering students, and will provide them with training opportunities.
ASELSAN's Director-General, Nurfer Oguz, said Jordanian technicians were trained in the early stages of the project to ensure the transfer of advanced technological knowhow in night vision and thermal imaging systems development.
He voiced hope the project would be the launchpad for fruitful cooperation between Turkey and Jordan in the industrial sector.
The company is preparing to participate in some of the largest military events and exhibitions held in the region, particularly the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX Jordan) and International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX Abu Dhabi), in addition to supplying night vision and thermal systems to a number of countries in the region.
The King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) is an independent government entity within the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) that aims to be the globally preferred partner in designing and developing defense products and security solutions in the region.
HRH Prince Faisal Bin al-Hussein and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lit. Gen. Mashal Mohammad al-Zabin attended the inauguration.