A baseline configuration of gunships for Jordan has been announced by the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau and ATK of the United States.

The AC-235 aircraft from Airbus - delivered recently - and a C-295 recently ordered feature a variety of weaponry for maximum mission flexibility.

Both will feature integrated fire-control systems, air-to-ground AGM-114M/K missiles and 70mm rockets mounted on pylons. Light-weight 30mm cannons will also be integrated onto the aircraft by ATK.

"We are extending the Kingdom's investment in the AC-235 through the addition of new weapons and mission systems onto the larger C-295 platform to provide additional capabilities, more firepower and flexibility for the defense of the Kingdom," said Maj. Gen. Atef Tell, Chairman of KADDB.

"The successful development, testing and delivery of the AC-235 gunships by the KADDB/ATK team led directly to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan announcing their intent to expand the gunship capability onto a larger aircraft platform," said Bill Kasting, vice president and general manager of ATK's Defense Electronic Systems division.

ATK said the aircrafts' gunship capability package is part of the company's Special Mission Aircraft product portfolio, which has provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to aircraft, as well as weapon systems. Among the aircraft provided with the capabilities are the Alenia C-27J, Lockheed Martin C-130 and others.