Iran's army air force begins military exercise

Iranian state-run television says the country's army air force has begun a military exercise near Iran's northwestern border with Turkey.

Thursday's report says jet fighters, including American-made F-4s, F-5s and F-14s and Russian-made Sukhoi planes, are involved in the operation.

The exercise in the northwestern town of Tabriz also includes the new domestically manufactured jet fighter called the Saegheh, or Lightning.

The broadcast says the exercise is aimed at boosting Iran's defense capabilities, upgrading the morale of the army and displaying the might of the country's air force.

Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980s war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo.