The two-week multinational military exercise held annually in Jordan since 2010 – Eager Lion – has commenced in Jordan, conducted by Jordan and partner countries to raise preparedness for emerging cross-border threats.

Thirty-Three countries will participate in the exercise over 12 days from May 12 to May 23, and will cover all regions of the north, central, and south of Jordan.

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Colonel Mustafa Abdul Haleem Al-Hayari, Director of Military Media Directorate, stated that the Eager Lion is one of the most important military exercises conducted in the Middle East region. It involves the participation of land, sea, and air forces of all the participating countries.

Additionally, various governmental and non-governmental institutions at the national level (ministries, security agencies, and humanitarian organizations) are participating, as well as 33 countries internationally, including Jordan and the United States. The latter adds significant value to the exercise in terms of diversifying experiences and acquiring multiple methods for participants – according to Al-Hayari.

This exercise was designed to achieve several objectives at strategic, operational, and logistical levels, including:

Strategic Level

The exercise aims to establish a common understanding among the participating countries about the nature of emerging threats crossing borders, such as terrorist organizations, groups, entities, and their supporters, as well as the proliferation of drones and the threat of the spread of weapons of mass destruction (biological, chemical, and nuclear) and the spread of delivery means represented by missiles of various ranges. This common understanding includes all directions of land, air, and maritime threats.

The exercise was designed to find the best ways and means to confront these threats, such as raising the combat readiness of the Jordanian Armed Forces and other armies participating in this exercise, as well as enhancing the response capabilities of other institutions, intelligence agencies, media, and information.

Operational Level

The exercise was designed to synchronize the forces of the participating countries in terms of planning, targeting, and managing military operations (land, sea, and air), as well as logistics support operations and response to natural disasters and pandemics.

Logistical Level

The exercise was designed to equip human resources at the individual and collective levels with skills to respond to weapons of mass destruction incidents, humanitarian disasters, handling explosives, search and inspection, and others.