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.

New Counter-UAS tech put to the test during Project Flytrap

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Video by Spc. Elijah Magana

June 12, 2025 | 0:51

U.S. Army 1st. Lt. Jake Licht, a platoon leader assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, discusses the importance of assessing various counter-unmanned aerial systems during Project Flytrap at Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels Training Area, Hohenfels, Germany, June 6, 2025. Licht mentions the importance of mitigating conflicts within the ecosystem of counter-unmanned aerial systems. (U.S. Army video by Spc. Elijah Magaña)

Project Flytrap is led by the U.S. and the U.K. It is a series of CUAS training scenarios that test the capabilities of new, lower-cost and portable technology against adversary drone threats, providing critical feedback to the U.S. Army's continuous transformation efforts.

~~Soundbites~~

(00:01) Project Flytrap assessment team speaks over the radio:
“Red One, drone is in the air. I say again, drone is in the air.”

(00:05) U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jake Licht:
“With any new technology, there's a lot of testing.”

(00:09) U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jake Licht:
“Each of these vendors, they come up with great ideas. They're all super, super smart. And then when it comes to us, the warfighters, we have to incorporate a lot of different technology, a lot of different vendors all in one space. Usually for the first time.”

(00:22) U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment:
“Get ready to jam. All right. Set. Jam.”

(00:09) U.S. Army 1st Lt. Jake Licht:
“So anytime we get lots of new tech, it's important to do operations like Fly trap and these sorts of projects to keep making sure that if they have conflicts with one another, if they interrupt one another, cancel one another out, that we're going to see that out there and know how to mitigate it moving forward. And to compare it against our already existing programs of records to help conduct counter UAS and air defense.”

~~Visuals ID~~

(00:00-00:04)
British Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, Royal Yorkshire Regiment operate a Neros Archer first-person-view drone. The soldiers flew the drone near U.S. and U.K. training lanes, which allowed for testing and feedback on new, low-cost, and portable counter-unmanned aerial systems.

(00:05-00:09)
U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment utilize the Smartshooter SMASH 2000L to practice target lock-on against a nearby drone.

(00:14)
U.S. Soldiers view their Nett Warrior End User Device, which shows a real-time aerial view of nearby drones.

(00:17-00:20)
A U.S. Soldier secures a Titan UAS detector and jammer.

(00:21)
U.S. Soldiers transport external mobile Squarehead acoustic panels.

(00:23)
U.S. Soldiers test the Wingman and Pitbull portable C-UAS devices.

(00:29-00:36)
U.S. Soldiers establish and use the EchoShield cognitive radar.

(00:40)
U.S. Soldiers utilize an MPU5 networking radio to receive data from nearby C-UAS systems.

(00:43-00:45)
U.S. Soldiers assigned to 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment operate an AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar system to deliver air picture to ground-force Soldiers.

(00:46)
First-person-view drone footage of U.S. Soldiers using C-UAS jammers to disable a drone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mechanisation” by Jake Ridley is licensed under De Wolfe Music Library. To request a copy of this 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment’s license please email team@dewolfemusic.com More