A group of pilots from the Royal Jordanian Air Force recently paid a “working visit” to Israel, The Times of Israel reported on Thursday.

News of this working visit comes after a report last month that Israeli and Jordanian pilots both participated in the American-sponsored Blue Flag military exercises this past summer. There were also reports that the two nations’ planes crossed the Atlantic together, with Jordanian planes refueling from an Israeli tanker.

One pilot, identified as Majdi Asmadi, refused to join the delegation and was kicked out of the service.

The increasingly public security cooperation between Israel and Jordan comes amid the strengthening of ties between the two nations in other spheres. A $15 billion deal for Israel to sell natural gas to Jordan was reported last year, and the two countries signed a historic water-sharing deal in February. In November, 172 Jordanians started working in hotels in Eilat as part of a program to increase economic cooperation. The program is expected to expand to include 1,500 Jordanians.

[Photo: Israel Defense Forces / Flickr ]