Jordan is set to make a massive profit by selling Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft system to the US. The White House plans to send the weapons to arms to Ukraine. In 2013, Amman purchased the weapons 2013 for $22 million, and now the US will pay Jordan nearly $120 million to buy the anti-aircraft system for Ukraine.
According to De Telegraaf, the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, “The Netherlands sold the sixty [Gepards] to the Jordanians in 2013 for about 350,000 euros each. At the time, it indeed involved a total amount of 21 million euros. While the Americans would now pay 1.8 million euros each for it.”
Han Bouwmeester, a Dutch brigadier general and military professor, said the increase in price was due to the steep demand for weapons caused by the multiple conflicts being fought around the globe. “The situation in the world then was fundamentally different than it is now. The geopolitical situation has now changed ,and that may affect the price of these [Gepard],” he explained.
As the war in Ukraine has dragged on, and Israel has urged the US for weapons, the demand for arms has continued to increase. Washington has been pressed to find artillery shells and air defense systems, which are in demand by both Kiev and Tel Aviv.
A former Pentagon employee has warned that the Department of Defense is being price gouged for weapons earlier this year. Shay Assad, a former contract negotiator at the Defense Department, said ,“The gouging that takes place is unconscionable. There’s no doubt about it,” he continued, “You just can only buy so much, because you only have so much money. And that’s why I say, is it really any different than not giving a Marine enough bullets to put in his clip? It’s the same thing.”
