U.S. Air Forces Test Rapid Airpower Deployment in Middle East Readiness Exercise.

Ninth Air Force, Air Forces Central, began a multi-day readiness exercise on 26 January to test its ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower across the CENTCOM region. The event underscores growing emphasis on logistics resilience and multinational coordination amid heightened regional vigilance and an expanded U.S. military posture.

U.S. Air Forces Central on 26 January initiated a multi-day readiness exercise designed to validate its capacity to rapidly project and sustain airpower across the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, according to service statements released this week. As of 29 January, available details describe a theater-wide training event centered on force mobility, resilient logistics, and integrated multinational command and control, conducted against the backdrop of elevated regional tensions and ongoing U.S. force presence in the Middle East.
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The exercise is designed as a validation of procedures rather than a routine training cycle. AFCENT aims to improve the dispersal capacity of personnel and aircraft, strengthen regional partnerships, and prepare for flexible response execution in an air domain where geography, the political sensitivity of basing, and the diversity of threats require careful planning. In the CENTCOM context, dispersal is not merely a tactical option. It is intended to reduce reliance on a limited number of major bases, complicate adversary planning, and preserve continuity in sortie generation, including from degraded or temporary locations.

Lt. Gen. Derek France, AFCENT commander and Combined Forces Air Component Commander for CENTCOM, emphasizes the ability of Airmen to disperse, operate, and generate combat sorties under demanding conditions, with precision and safety, while working alongside partners. This focus on combat sortie generation is central, as it reflects the practical measure of airpower: the ability to sustain operational tempo, not only to move forces. It also underscores an organizational requirement, since dispersal only functions if ground teams, maintenance, force protection, and logistics can maintain output while operating with a deliberately reduced footprint.

In practical terms, the exercise involves deploying teams to multiple contingency locations and validating rapid set-up, launch, and recovery procedures using “small, efficient support packages.” This implies agile detachments able to operate from limited infrastructure while maintaining strict standards for flight safety, maintenance, and coordination with host nations. The explicit reference to close coordination with civil and military aviation authorities highlights a frequently overlooked aspect: within the CENTCOM theater, freedom of action depends as much on airspace management and sovereignty considerations as on platform performance.

One piece of equipment is confirmed through imagery associated with the exercise. A captioned photo dated 22 January 2026 shows a C-17 Globemaster III taking off during the event. The C-17A Globemaster III is a strategic airlifter designed to move personnel and cargo rapidly over long distances, with the ability to operate from relatively short or austere runways, making it well-suited to supplying dispersed locations. In a dispersal model, its role is decisive: it can deliver heavy logistics loads in a limited number of sorties, including ground support equipment, maintenance packages, and deployable command-and-communications modules.

Beyond the C-17, the announcement does not specify the aircraft types involved, but the nature of the exercise implies the use of a coherent set of capabilities. The most plausible platforms for combat sortie generation and dispersed operations within CENTCOM include multirole fighters such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon or the F-15E Strike Eagle, which are frequently deployed to the region depending on rotation cycles. The F-16 is a multirole fighter suited for localized air superiority and strike missions, typically integrating tactical data links and precision-guided weapons. The F-15E, a twin-engine fighter-bomber, is characterized by high payload capacity and the ability to employ precision munitions, making it relevant to strike and interdiction scenarios in complex operating environments.

An aerial refueling component is also likely, as dispersal and theater depth require extending aircraft range and time on station. Within AFCENT force packages, the most common tankers are the KC-135R Stratotanker and the KC-46A Pegasus. The KC-135R supports sustained air operations by enabling extended mission endurance, while the KC-46A provides a more recent platform with multi-mode refueling capabilities. In a dispersed concept, tankers are not only support assets; they shape the air maneuver by enabling temporary concentration of effects along an axis, followed by rapid redistribution of aircraft.

The “integrated, multi-national command and control” requirement also suggests the presence of deployable communications and command elements capable of coordinating multi-site operations. In this framework, tactical networks such as Link 16 are typically essential, as they enable near real-time sharing of the air picture, tracks, and mission tasking between platforms and command nodes. Connectivity then functions as a force multiplier by reducing friction, improving deconfliction, and maintaining coherent execution despite the physical dispersion of units.

The exercise aims to generate measurable resilience. A dispersed air posture is harder to neutralize because it limits the effectiveness of strikes against single hubs, reduces vulnerabilities linked to centralized stockpiles, and shortens recovery timelines. Generating sorties from contingency locations with reduced support packages requires strict discipline in maintenance, munitions handling, refueling, and force protection, all of which determine how long a force can sustain tempo. When executed effectively, dispersal creates operational elasticity: the ability to shift combat mass rapidly, change axes of effort, and maintain pressure without presenting a stable and predictable target set.

By demonstrating the ability to deploy and sustain dispersed combat airpower, AFCENT supports deterrence and reassurance objectives without implying imminent escalation. The training takes place against a backdrop of increasing U.S. military presence in the Middle East, including the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and accompanying warships into the CENTCOM area of responsibility, a movement linked to broader tensions with Iran following internal unrest and political confrontations.