Mooresville company hands off four aircraft to Royal Jordanian Air Force

by Ben Gibson

Originally featured in Mooresville Tribune – Words and Pictures by Ben Gibson – Used with permission

The Royal Jordanian Air Force’s partnership with IOMAX USA took another step forward as the company handed off the first of four Textron Cessna Caravans in a hangar at the Lake Norman Air Park on Tuesday.

Sen. Ted Budd was on hand as IOMAX celebrated the occasion and the company’s nearly decade-old partnership with the U.S. ally. His own relationship with the company was nearly as old as Budd noted that in 2016 when visiting the Mooresville company he had ruined a suit he wore that day while inspecting IOMAX and some of its aircraft.

“That was one of the best investments, one of the best things I could have done with that suit,” Budd said.

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hiyasat and members of the Royal Jordanian Air Force were on hand to inspect the craft and will receive training on their new equipment before it is taken to their home country. The Mooresville defense contractor outfitted the aircraft for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to conduct counter-drug and counter-terrorism missions on its borders and elsewhere the planes are needed.

Along with thanking the guests including Budd and Hiyasat, IOMAX CEO K.C. Howard thanked his company’s employees for their work that is behind the aircraft which has made for a strong relationship between the business and the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

“Gen. Hiyasat, I assure you that your trust and faith that you and your colleagues placed in IOMAX to advance this program’s capabilities, is well placed, is in the right place,” Howard said.

The leaders from the various stakeholders spoke to the appreciation for their partnerships in business and between the two countries’ militaries over the past 70 years.

“The US and Jordanian militaries share an incredible partnership of advancing peace and progress throughout the Middle East,” Budd said. “The Jordanian Air Force’s decision to do business in North Carolina and with our great people, it means so much to me and we want to thank you for your continued partnership.”

Eyes in the sky

Seamus Flatley, IOMAX’s vice president of international business development, said the Textron Cessna Caravans are equipped as surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft and will primarily be used for border security in Jordan. Typical missions may include counter-drug and counter-terrorism, Flatley said. IOMAX USA took the Textron Cessna Caravans, a utility aircraft at the end of last year and began the process of preparing them for the Royal Jordanian Air Force’s purposes.

The major changes to the craft include the addition of an electro-optical sensor that can be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, improved radar and communications equipment, and conversion of the cockpit’s avionics and interior lighting to be night vision compatible.

In 2022, IOMAX staged a similar ceremony to celebrate the Royal Jordanian Air Force’s acquisition of Block 4 AT-802I upgraded Border Patrol Aircraft from the Mooresville company. According to its website, IOMAX’s partnership with the RJAF began in 2014 when the United Arab Emirates transferred six IOMAX AT-802 Block 2 Border Patrol Aircraft to the Kingdom of Jordan.

Originally featured in Mooresville Tribune – Words and Pictures by Ben Gibson – Used with permission