AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar -- U.S. Air Forces Central, alongside regional partners throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, launched Operation Agile Spartan 23.2, Aug. 14, a multinational operation aimed to demonstrate interoperability, improve response capabilities, and further security cooperation initiatives throughout the region.
U.S. and coalition forces will validate Agile Combat Employment (ACE) capabilities, expanding the number of ACE locations from which coalition air forces can generate combat missions.
Each of U.S. Air Forces Central’s five expeditionary wings are participating in the exercise by launching and recovering aircraft at austere locations throughout the theater. The ACE concept shifts the generation of airpower from large, centralized bases, to networks of smaller, more dispersed networks of cluster bases, which amplifies the U.S. Air Force’s ability to operate anywhere at any time.
As the second iteration of the Agile Spartan exercise series this year, coalition forces are integrating with U.S. forces strengthening alliances and creating an asymmetric advantage through strategic access, coalition interoperability, increased partner capacity, and advanced battlespace domain awareness.
The large-scale exercise reinforces the U.S.’s enduring commitment to its regional partners in the Middle East, while developing and maintaining the ability to rapidly deploy troops and position strategic aircraft to meet the needs of joint and coalition commanders.
Imagery of operations and activities within the U.S. Air Forces Central area of responsibility is publicly available through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/AFCENT.
For more information on U.S. Air Forces Central, please contact 9th Air Force (Air Forces Central) Public Affairs via email at afcent.publicaffairs@afcent.af.mil.