December 19, 2013: Two years ago Jordan hired the American firm ATK to modify two Jordanian CN-235 transports modified to serve as gunships. These two engine transports are having sensors (day/night cameras) added, along with laser designators and a defensive system against heat-seeking missiles. Armament will consist of a 30mm autocannon, Hellfire missiles and 70mm rockets. The 16 ton CN-235 can carry four tons of equipment and stay in the air for about eight hours per sortie. Think of this aircraft as a twin engine C-130. The conversions were supposed to be completed in 2013 but the gunship only got as far as its first flight test with all its weapons and other systems installed. That was a success but there must still be several months of weapons and systems tests before the two gunships are ready for delivery.

The main weapon is the 58 kg (127 pound) M230 30mm cannon fires about ten rounds a second and is often configured to 1,200 rounds. The most common round used is the HEDP (high explosive dual purpose), meaning that he round not only penetrates up to 50mm of armor, but generates fragments that kill or wound personnel within four meters (12 feet) of detonation. Each round carries 22 grams (.76 ounces) of explosives, is 20 cm (7.8 inches) long and weighs 339 grams (11.8 ounces), while the projectile weighs 229 grams (half a pound). A direct hit on a person is fatal, and messy. Effective range of the 30mm cannon is about 4,000 meters. Time in flight to 3,000 meters is 12 seconds. The fire control system takes care of all the necessary aiming adjustments for long range shots. The M230 is usually used in conjunction with a red-dot laser indicator. This reduces friendly fire incidents. When in doubt, the gunner can flip on the red-dot and ask the guys down below if the right target is about to be hit. The red-dot also has an intimidating effect on the enemy, if you are trying to induce them to surrender.

When operating in daylight (too high for the M230) the main weapons would be missiles. These are the Hellfire II, which weighs 48 kg (106 pounds), carries a 9 kg (20 pound) warhead, and has a range of 8,000 meters. There are several powered 70mm guided missiles already available. These are lighter (13.6 kg/30 pound) and were developed for use against targets that don't require a larger and more expensive Hellfire missile but still need some targeting precision. Launchers for 70mm missiles are built to replace the one for Hellfire but carry four 70mm missiles instead of a single Hellfire. The 70mm rockets have a laser seeker, a 2.7 kg (six pound) warhead, and a range of about six kilometers. Laser designators on the gunship, or with troops on the ground, are pointed at the target and the laser seeker in the front of the 70mm missile homes in on the reflected laser light. There are some even smaller missiles, like Griffin, which weighs only 16 kg (35 pounds) with a 5.9 kg (13 pound) warhead. Griffin has pop-out wings, allowing it to glide for long distances (up to 15 kilometers). You can carry two Griffins in place of one Hellfire.

The Jordanian gunships are being equipped based on American experience in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be used to patrol the Syrian border. There, the civil war in Syria is threatening to spill over (in the form of ambitious Islamic terrorists) into Jordan. The two gunships will make the border more dangerous for ambitious terrorists.