World Bulletin / News Desk

The United States will send a Patriot missile battery and F-16 fighters to Jordan for a military drill, officials said Monday.

The Patriot missile launchers and F-16 warplanes "were approved for deployment to Jordan as part of Exercise Eager Lion," said Lieutenant Colonel T.G. Taylor, spokesman for US Central Command.

"In order to enhance the defensive posture and capacity of Jordan, some of these assets may remain beyond the exercise at the request of the Government of Jordan," Taylor said in a statement.