Amid Iran tensions, US announces multi-day aerial military drill in Middle East
US military’s CENTCOM launches air exercise as Washington shifts significant forces to region to enable possible strike on Iran after regime’s devastating crackdown on protesters By Emanuel Fabian Followand AFP27 January 2026, 6:22 pm An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, prepares to launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on January 22, 2026, in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman) The United States announced on Tuesday that it was conducting an aerial military exercise in the Middle East amid ongoing tensions with Iran. The US Ninth Air …