# U.S. Central Command

Trump Envoy and Kushner Join CENTCOM Chief Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln After F‑35C Downs Iranian Drone

A U.S. presidential special envoy, the CENTCOM commander (named in Chinese reports as Brad Cooper), and Jared Kushner visited the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on February 7, meeting crew who had been involved in shooting down an Iranian drone. The encounter—an F‑35C shot down an unmanned Iranian aircraft near the carrier—illustrates rising maritime tensions, the deployment of advanced carrier airpower against drones, and the political signaling inherent in senior visitors joining forward naval forces.