The Al Hussein Falcon II tank at the Royal Tank Museum in Amman, October 29, 2025.
The experimental 17.5-ton Falcon II turret was developed by the King Abdullah II Design and Development Design Bureau KADDB (now Jordan Design & Development Bureau JODDB) in conjunction with the Mechanology Design Bureau MDB in South Africa. The Falcon II turret features a reduced frontal silhouette with the crew positioned below the turret ring. The Falcon II turret's primary armament includes the high-pressure, smooth-bore RUAG Compact Tank Gun CTG 120mm, capable of firing all 120mm NATO ammunition (the gun is currently in the John Cockerill Defense portfolio). The turret is equipped with an autoloader with a capacity of 10 rounds, located at the rear of the turret and equipped with two blow-off panels. The autoloader for the Falcon II turret was developed by the British company Claverham Limited, better known under its former name Fairey Hydraulics Limited.
The independent optoelectronic sight come from the South African company IST Dynamics, and the Fire Control System, a hunter-killer type with an autotracker, is likely a development of the FCS TIGER system /developed earlier for T-72 modernization/.
The spikes on the optoelectronic sights, resembling a hedgehog's armor, are noteworthy. I haven't seen this element in photos of the Falcon II turret available online before.
Work on the Falcon III turret has been announced, but as of now, there's no news on its progress, so the project is likely dead. The Falcon III was supposed to have a larger 17-round autoloader, fully electric drives, and likely improved ballistic protection using RUAG technology.
We spent with my 14 year-old son over five hours at The Royal Tank Museum, taking photos with two cameras. I'd love to return there someday, as the museum is truly recommendable. Besides the collection of exhibits, we especially enjoyed the silence and the relatively small number of visitors. This allowed us to take photos feeling like it was open just for us.
We have over a thousand decent photos from there, which we'll share somewhere after editing—perhaps not on X—because X constantly degrades the quality. Tourists visiting Jordan have many interesting places to see, and the peaceful locals often don't even know they have such a wonderful tank museum in Amman.
If you're visiting Jordan as a tourist and have some interest in history or armor technology, I highly recommend dedicating a day to visiting The Royal Tank Museum in Amman.