The United States delivered eight Black Hawk helicopters to Jordan on Thursday to help its regional ally defend itself against the threat of Islamic State militants, Jordanian and U.S. officials said.
They said another eight Black Hawks would begin arriving next year under a military aid deal worth about $200 million.
The helicopters are central to a U.S.-funded "Quick Reaction Force" set up by Jordan to counter Islamic State, which controls large swaths of territory in neighboring Iraq and Syria.