Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

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.

USS Hopper Completes Drydock Period at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility

Video by Claudia LaMantia

March 11, 2025 | 3:11

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility Sailors, civilians and contractors, prepare for and successfully conduct undocking of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70), March 11, 2025. Hopper entered PHNSY & IMF’s Dry Dock 4 in June 2024 to begin a Selected Restricted Availability-docking (SRA-d), which is a docking of convenience that accomplishes work that typically can’t be done by a waterborne SRA, such as preserving fuel tanks. PHNSY & IMF is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii. Strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, it is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East. Its location places it about a week’s steaming time closer to potential regional contingencies in the Indo-Pacific.
(U.S. Navy video by Claudia LaMantia, Kenny Jones, and Mike Williams) More