“Wildey’s here.” Not only is this the line uttered by Charles Bronson in 1985’s Death Wish III, which served to introduce the world to the Wildey Survivor pistol, but it is also the title of Wildey Moore’s autobiography (Independently published in 2019). Some of our readers may already be aware of Wildey Moore, and his work in the firearms industry. Not only has he designed iconic pistols he was also responsible for founding Jordan’s JAWS state arms factory.
Jordan
Operation Balak: The IDF’s Star of David on Nazi Rifles
“All is fair in love and war” is an idiom in English that refers to the practice of otherwise questionable actions being considered acceptable under exceptional circumstances. When talking about weaponry in general, one example to illustrate the aforementioned saying would be the direct use of an enemy’s arms of war to forward one’s own agenda. Anti-Communist Afghan Mujahideen fighting their Soviet enemies with Soviet-made weaponry, Islamic State attacking regional adversaries with US M4’s and M16’s or the post-war US government employing former German and Japanese scientists and technologies for their fight against the Red Menace are all examples of this common practice. The Israeli Defense Forces‘ hexagram emblem on Nazi Mauser-manufactured Kar98k carbines is another interesting manifestation of this idiom.
V7: Malhama Tactical’s Abu Rofiq’s Death, Jordanian 1911, Iranian Haydar, Syrian Rebels’ Clone of HS.50’s Clone and More!
In the seventh podcast of Silah Report, with the presence of Vlad, Adham, Miles, Hrachya, Abuzaben, Ataka, AnalystMick, Daniel and MENA, we discussed a number of topics that would be just silly trying to cover all of them in the title!
بنادق ال “ام 1 جاراند” في استعراض اردني
This is an article on Lee Enfields and M1 Garands in Jordan as service rifles and later on ceremonial if you want to read this article in English, please check this link
بنادق ال “ام 1 جاراند” و ال “لي انفيلد” في استعراض عسكري اردني
حتى صيف 2016, كانت البنادق الامريكية الصنع “ام 1 جاراند” تظهر باعداد كبيرة في الاستعراضات التابعة للقوات الملكية الاردنية. كان سلاح المشاة و و الخيالة يحملون البندقية مع حربة مركبة في الاستعراضات من ضمن اسلحة فردية متنوعة ومنها البندقية البريطانية “لي اينفيلد” .مصدر البندقية “ام 1 جاراند” يعتقد انه يا من اليونان او صفقات سلاح من الولايات المتحدة. مع ان البندقيتان يتم استخدامهم في الاستعراضات فقط الان, ولكن في السابق تم استخدامهم كاسلحة اساسية للمقاتل الاردني بالذات في حرب 48. هذه الصور تظهر البندقيتان اثناء استخدامهم كتسليح اساسي في القوات الاردنية:
مشهد تمثيلي بمناسبة ذكرى الخمسيت لمعركة الكرامة
صورة لمصفحة مجنزرة اسرائيلية تم اغتنامها في معركة الكرامة
صورة لجنديان اردنيان مسلحين بالبندقية الامريكية والبريطانية و بخلفهم دباباة اردنية من نوع “ام 48” الامريكية الصنع
M1 Garands in Jordanian National Parade
Although not recent (Summer 2016), M1 Garands were plentiful at a parade put on by the Royal Jordanian Armed Forces in honor of King Abdullah II. Among numerous small arms used in the ceremony were M1 Garands (among a contingent of SMLEs) in use by both marchers and cavalry. Obviously, these rifles have been downgraded to a ceremonial status in recent times but they are indicative of an era in which the Jordanians actually used M1s as frontline rifles. How they got there could either be through a Foreign Military Sales purchase from the United States, or it could have been surplus Greek M1s as well. Notice that most of the marchers have their M1s mounted with their bayonets as well.
This image is from Getty Images, showing Jordanian troops armed with M1s in previous years.
Did Jordanian SF Purchase SIG MCXs? Or Just King Abdullah II?
A recent video has been published by Jordanian media services showing head of state King Abdullah II in his element, conducting a training operation consisting of a dismounted sweep and clear of an enemy-held town. The King himself is a large fan of his countries Joint Special Operations Command (العمليات الخاصة المشتركة الاردنية). Between 1994 and 1999 he took command of the special operations forces, restructuring them into what they are today before taking the throne of his country in 1999, in addition to establishing KASOTC, one of the premier special forces specific training sites in the MENA region.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rExw-0ptWU&feature=youtu.be
This video shows his Highness armed with what appears to be a 12-inch barrel configuration of the Sig Sauer MCX carbine, most likely in 5.56x45mm NATO, with an Elbit Systems optical sight mounted. The remainder of his SF squad appears to have standard issue M4A1s and not MCXs as evidenced by the handguards and fixed triangular front sight posts. From the RT Arabic post-
A video released by the Jordanian Royal Court showed Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who was playing with Jordanian soldiers in a military exercise with live ammunition that appeared to be an operation against terrorists. King Abdullah appeared in full military uniform with a machine gun that appeared to be M16, in a real atmosphere of war, which received tens of thousands of views, banners and posts within an hour of publication.
أظهر فيديو نشره الديوان الملكي الأردني، العاهل الأردني الملك عبدالله الثاني وهو يشارك إلى جانب جنود أردنيين في مناورة عسكرية بالذخيرة الحية بدت أنها عملية ضد إرهابيين.
وظهر فيه الملك عبدالله بكامل عدته العسكرية مع رشاش بدا أنه M16 ، في أجواء حرب حقيقية، حظي بعشرات آلاف المشاهدات واللايكات والمشاركات خلال ساعة من نشره.
This photograph shows one of the members of the SF team with a standard issue M4A1.
The entire production appears to have been a propaganda stunt to raise support for the Kingdom by portraying the King in a positive light. Similar to earlier stunts where the King was pictured flying bombers into Syria when a Jordanian pilot was burned alive by the so-called Islamic State. The MCX rifle, however, is most likely not a part of the propaganda because the overwhelming majority of viewers watching the video clip probably will have no clue what the Sig MCX even is. The carbine could be a personal purchase or favorite of the King’s, or it could be something more serious, such as one of several T&E rifles ordered by Jordan, or even the results of a legitimate order. If we want to stretch it, there could also be a possibility that the MCXs could be in .300 BLK as well.
As per Wikipedia, the King actually has an interesting military career, even serving in the British Army-
He began his military career at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1980, while he was a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces.[8] After Sandhurst, Abdullah was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army[4] and served a year in Britain and West Germany as a troop commander in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars.[6]Abdullah was admitted to Pembroke College in 1982, where he completed a one-year special-studies course in Middle Eastern affairs.[4] He joined the Royal Jordanian Army on his return home, serving as first lieutenant and then as platoon commander and assistant commander of a company in the 40th Armored Brigade.[4] Abdullah took a free-fall parachuting course in Jordan,[9] and in 1985 he took the Armored Officer’s Advanced Course at Fort Knox.[4] He became commander of a tank company in the 91st Armored Brigade, with the rank of captain.[4]Abdullah also served with the Royal Jordanian Air Force‘s anti-tank helicopter wing, where he was trained to fly Cobra attack helicopters.[9]The prince then attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1987, undertaking advanced study and research in international affairs.[4] He returned home to serve as assistant commander of the 17th Royal Tank Battalion in 1989, later being promoted to major.[4]Abdullah attended a staff course at the British Staff College in 1990,[9] and served the following year in the Office of the Inspector General of the Jordanian Armed Forces as the Armored Corps representative.[9] He commanded a battalion in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1992 and was promoted to colonel the following year, commanding the 40th Brigade.[4]In 1994 Abdullah assumed command of Jordan’s Special Forces and other elite units as brigadier general, restructuring them into the Joint Special Operations Command two years later.[9] He became a major general, attended a course in defense resources management at the American Naval Postgraduate School[9] and commanded an elite special-forces manhunt in the pursuit of outlaws in 1998.[10] The operation reportedly ended successfully, with his name chanted on the streets of Amman.[10]