Air Force mum on details of Mideast exercise amid military buildup

Details of a multi-day Air Force exercise in the Middle East are sparse as the U.S. military presence in the region grows and the White House warns Iran to stop its violent crackdown on anti-regime protestors.

On Sunday, Ninth Air Force announced that an upcoming training exercise, dubbed Operation Agile Spartan, would “demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower” at “multiple contingency locations” across the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility. The release did not give dates, participating countries, or forces involved. 

Asked for details, Air Forces Central officials responded with an unsigned email. “This training exercise is not tied to any specific events, threats, or adversaries,” the email said. “This exercise is part of our regular regimen of exercise to test and evaluate our units while deployed.”

The exercise was announced one day before the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the Middle East, and several days after President  Trump ordered an “armada” dispatched toward Iran, where thousands of protestors have died at the hands of state security forces in recent weeks. Trump has threatened to strike Iranian targets if the repression continues, an action some analysts warn is likely to draw retaliation against U.S. targets and shore up internal support for the regime.

Last week, U.S. Central Command confirmed in a social media post that F-15E Strike Eagles from the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, U.K. had landed in the Middle East, with flight trackers tallying a dozen of the fighter jets.

Past Operation Agile Spartan exercises have been used to test out the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment scheme of maneuver. 

“Our Airmen are proving they can disperse, operate, and generate combat sorties under demanding conditions—safely, precisely and alongside our partners,” Lt. Gen. Derek France, the AFCENT commander, said in the recent news release. “This is about upholding our commitment to maintaining combat-ready Airmen and the disciplined execution required to keep airpower available when and where it’s needed.”

The service announced late last week that it was reviving the Air Expeditionary Wing concept, a rapid-deployment scheme introduced in the mid-1990s and popularized during the Global War on Terror in the Middle East. Officials said they will not be applying the revived concept to its latest exercise.

“Planning for this exercise was completed prior to the announcement of the Air Expeditionary Wing 2.0 concepts,” Air Force Central said in the emailed statement. “Moving forward, the concepts of AEW 2.0 will be integrated into future iterations of this exercise.”

This is not the only sparsely detailed U.S. exercise in a region of heightened geopolitical tension. Earlier this month, NORAD announced that it would send aircraft to Pituffik Space Force Base in Greenland for a “long-planned” exercise right as Trump was demanding U.S. ownership of the Danish-controlled island.

“This activity has been coordinated with the Kingdom of Denmark, and all supporting forces operate with the requisite diplomatic clearances,” NORAD said on social media on Jan. 19. “ The Government of Greenland is also informed of planned activities.”

NORAD declined to comment to Defense One about the purpose, timing, and other details of its exercise.