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.

IKE CSG MISSLEX Compilation

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)

Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Trejo

March 15, 2016 | 0:55

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Roosevelt (DDG 80), USS Nitze (DDG 94), USS Stout (DDG 55), USS Mason (DDG 87), along with Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers USS San Jacinto (CG 56) and USS Monterey (CG 61) launched Standard Missiles 2 (SM-2) at twice the speed of sound to destroy an advanced high-speed target during a live fire test of the ship's Aegis weapons system. The live fire event was conducted during the EISENHOWER Strike Group Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), the final certification event prior to deployment. As the world's premier fleet-area air defense weapon, SM-2 is an integral part of the layered defense that protects the world's naval assets and gives warfighters a greater reach in the battlespace. SM-2 variants have successfully intercepted targets and are lethal against subsonic, supersonic, low- and high-altitude, high-maneuvering, diving, sea-skimming, anti-ship cruise missiles fighters, bombers and helicopters in an advanced electronic countermeasures environment. SM-2 has an extensive area and self-defense flight test history with more than 2,650 successful flight tests from domestic and international ships. (U.S. Navy video/Released) More