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.

NATO Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance - Animation

Natochannel

Video by Courtesy

Feb. 10, 2016 | 1:22

NATO’s ability to gather information and fuse intelligence from multiple sources over space, air, sea and land has just reached an important milestone. On Wednesday (10 February 2016), the NATO Secretary General welcomed the statement by Defense Ministers on the Initial Operating Capability for Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.
“We, the Allied Defense Ministers, have today declared the initial operational capability for NATO's Joint, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance initiative. This achievement follows up to the commitments that our nations made at the Chicago Summit and subsequently reaffirmed at the Wales Summit.” the Ministers declared, stressing that “JISR will maximize the resources we have at hand already, both in NATO and in individual Allies: enhanced inter-connectivity across our system, more training and expertise among our personnel, and lead to better procedures for information handling and sharing. All these improvements will ultimately contribute to a better informed and more watchful Alliance. JISR stands ready to support rapid decision making across several major lines of effort, including the Readiness Action Plan, our strategy on hybrid warfare, and our overall deterrence posture.”

Providing the right information to decision-makers and action-takers is vital for all military operations. While surveillance and reconnaissance can answer the questions “what,” “when” and “where”, the combined information from various intelligence sources and disciplines provide the answers to “how” and “why.” When all of this is combined, you create Joint ISR. NATO JISR has just reached the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) that means promoting and enabling data sharing within the NATO Response force. More