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.

GoPro Footage CF-18 Hornet - Vigilant Eagle 13

North American Aerospace Defense Command

Video by Courtesy

Aug. 27, 2013 | 2:30

GoPro Footage from the CF-18 Hornet during Exercise Vigilant Eagle 13, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska on August 27th, 2013. A CC-150 Polaris Airbus from 437 Squadron in Trenton provides air-to-air refueling to CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft from 409 Squadron on their transit from Cold Lake, Alberta to Elmendorf, Alaska in preparation for Exercise VIGILANT EAGLE 13 on August 27, 2013.

Exercise VIGILANT EAGLE involves the Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF) and the bi-national (United States & Canada) North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in a live-fly exercise designed to coordinate responses to a mutually acknowledged hijacked aircraft.

This exercise is an opportunity for NORAD and the RFAF to demonstrate cooperation and partnership and to establish a working relationship for technical solutions and information sharing. This year, the RFAF and NORAD will conduct their fifth Vigilant Eagle exercise from August 26 - 30, 2013. More