The first batch of ex-British Army Challenger 1 Main Battle Tanks being supplied to Jordan leaves the UK today, to take part in a parade in Amman on 14 November to commemorate the late King Hussein's birthday. The tanks were made ready on time by the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO), in Bovington, Dorset, which has 13 years experience of repairing and maintaining the British Army's Challenger 1. The 14 Challengers were the first of a total of 288 being supplied to Jordan. They will be known as Al Hussein in Jordanian service. At the presentation of the tanks to the Jordanian Ambassador, His Excellency Taimur Daghistany, at Bovington, a Jordanian spokesman said: "We are impressed and delighted with the effort and results achieved by ABRO in having the vehicles here today ready for shipping in time for the parade." The supply of Challenger 1 to Jordan demonstrates Britain's continuing support for King Abdullah and maintains a long tradition of British armoured vehicles being used by the Jordanian Armed Forces. Over the next 3 years Challenger 1 will replace the JordanianArmy's Centurion tanks. The Government will be represented at the parade in Amman by Baroness Symons, Minister for Defence Procurement, who said: "I am very much looking forward to being present when His Majesty King Abdullah inspects the first Al Hussein tanks on a very important occasion. We greatly value our long-standing links with Jordan and we are pleased to be able to play a part in His Majesty's plans to modernise his armed forces."
Background Notes: ABRO's role is the provision of a repair and re-manufacture service primarily for the British Army but also for other armed services, government departments and commercial customers. ABRO is a major industrial organisation with an annual turnover in the region of 180 million pounds sterling, and a 2,800 strong workforce, strategically sited at seven principal locations across the whole of the UK.
