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.

UNITAS 2022: Close Air Support (Day 2) (B-Roll)

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South

Video by Cpl. Colton Garrett

Sept. 8, 2022 | 4:14

U.S. Marines with 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, and Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 773, Marine Forces Reserve, in support of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force UNITAS LXIII, and Brazilian Marines with Air Combat Team conduct close air support drills at Santa Cruz Air Force Base, Rio de Janeiro, Sept. 8, 2022. HMLA 773 and 4th ANGLICO cross trained with the Brazilian Marine Corps by conducting close air support drills, which consists of locating targets from the ground and relaying coordinates to assets in the sky to destroy. UNITAS trains forces to conduct joint maritime operations through the execution of anti-surface, anti-submarine, anti-air, amphibious and electronic warfare operations that enhance warfighting proficiency and increase interoperability among participating naval and marine forces. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Colton K. Garrett) More