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 Boston SFS Timelapses

Space Base Delta 1

Video by Airman Kaitlin Frazier, Paul Honnick

Sept. 18, 2022 | 2:24

Timelapse reel depicting New Boston Space Force Station, New Hampshire, captured during sunrise and sunset on Sept. 17, and sunrise on Sept. 18, 2022. The 23rd Space Operations Squadron, a component of Space Delta 6, provides critical satellite command and control capability to more than 190 Department of Defense, national and civilian satellites performing intelligence, weather, navigation, early-warning and communications operations. The squadron also operates and maintains the 2,826-acre installation under Space Base Delta 1, managing security, civil engineering, communications, services, natural resources and safety. The installation’s defining feature, its weather-proof radomes, house and protect antennae which enable real-time capability to users performing on-orbit tracking, telemetry, commanding and mission data retrieval services. Presented in 4K30, no sound. (U.S. Space Force video by Paul Honnick and Airman 1st Class Kaitlin Castillo) More