SOFEX 2012: Arab Spring blamed for slow-moving Little Bird contract
The Arab Spring and civil unrest in Syria are responsible for delaying Jordan's attempts to purchase Boeing AH-6i 'Little Bird' helicopters, defence sources have suggested.
Commander of the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), Maj Gen Malek Habashna told Shephard the service remains committed to purchasing 18 AH-6i airframes despite two years passing since a Letter of Intent was signed in May 2010.
However, industry sources told Shephard that 'external events' had seen the allocated money diverted to other projects such as monitoring of the Syrian situation. Boeing was unable to comment on the current position of negotiations but sources said
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