Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

SecAF Memo

Air Force FAQ for Reoptimizing Great Power Competition

“We need these changes now; we are out of time to reoptimize our forces to meet the strategic challenges in a time of great power competition.”

~ Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall

The United States faces a time of consequence marked by significant shifts in the strategic environment. To remain ready, the U.S. Air Force must change.

In early 2024, the Department of the Air Force unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in their respective domains while better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition. Through a series of 24 DAF-wide key decisions, four core areas which demand the Department’s attention will be addressed: Develop People, Generate Readiness, Project Power and Develop Capabilities.

Today, the Air Force once again finds itself at a critical juncture—an era of Great Power Competition marked by a new security environment, a rapidly evolving character of war, and a formidable competitor. This new era requires understanding its challenges and the attributes needed to succeed.

Embracing change is not a choice; it is a necessity. The Air Force must “reoptimize” into an enterprise prepared for high-end conflicts and long-term strategic competition.

Austria and Vermont Celebrate Historic Partnership

158th Fighter Wing

Video by Senior Master Sgt. Michael Davis

June 16, 2023 | 7:11

B-roll of two F-35A Lightning IIs from the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing and two Eurofighter Typhoons from the Austrian Air Force's Airspace Surveillance Wing, fly at Hinterstoisser Air Base, along with footage covering a ceremony honoring the one year anniversary of the signing of a State Partnership Program agreement between Austria and Vermont at Zeltweg, Austria, June 16, 2023.

Additional b-roll of U.S. Brig. Gen Henry Harder, air component commander, Vermont National Guard, meeting with Austrian military dignitaries at the Austrian Defense Academy regarding the State Partnership Program between Austria and Vermont in Vienna Austria, June 15, 2023. These events and ceremony featured U.S. ambassador to Austria, Victoria Kennedy, Lt. Gen. Erich Csitkovits, commander of the Austrian Defense Academy, Klaudia Tanner, Austrian Minister of Defense, as well as other prominent members of the Austrian government and military. These events marked the close trans-Atlantic ties and strong bonds between Austria and Vermont, and the first time American F-35s landed at, and trained with, the Austrian Air Force. (U.S. Air National Guard video by Senior Master Sgt. Michael Davis) More