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.

Global Cyber Defense Exercise, Soundbites

Natochannel

Video by Courtesy

April 22, 2015 | 3:00

The largest international technical cyber defense exercise is underway in Estonia. Locked Shields involves around 400 computer experts from 16 nations. The drill will help better prepare nations to cope with ever-changing computer threats. It's being organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence based in Tallinn. Locked Shields is a scenario-based exercise where teams of cyber defense experts have to protect a realistic virtual network. Footage includes GVs of the exercise and sound bites with experts.

1. (00:00) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) RAIN OTTIS, PROFESSOR, TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLGY
“We all need some place to train. I mean if you look around NATO, we have military exercises all the time, tanks moving, airplanes flying, cyber defenders need to have the same kind of training and it’s best to have training where you do have a sparring partner, if you will.”

2. (00:19) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) RAIN OTTIS, PROFESSOR, TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLGY
“There are going to be attacks against the outer facing websites, there are going to be attacks that are targeting the users on the defending team side. There are attacks that are purely targeting the network and infrastructure of the defending teams and the main idea is to gain control over various defender systems. Exfiltrate certain documents out of those systems, disable some systems and at the very end of the game we also have somewhat more of a destructive inject planned.”

3. (01:00) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) RAIN OTTIS, PROFESSOR, TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLGY
“The scenario is building every year. We look around in the world and see what new elements we can incorporate into the scenario so this year we have included SCADA systems which are basically the industrial control systems that run generators, elevators, power systems and so forth.”

4. (01:28) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) RAIN OTTIS, PROFESSOR, TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLGY
“What the modern human needs to do is to learn to have a healthy curiosity about the technology they use every day. Studies have shown that most people are not even aware that you can have security software for your mobile devices let alone actually using that security software, so there’s plenty of awareness that needs to be raised about these issues and the best defence that any people can have is really not a piece of technology, it’s up here. Think before you act, before you click, before you send your information to someone. Is this a reasonable thing and what can happen if the other side is not the person they’re purporting to be.”

5. (02:21) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) JAAN PRIISALU, SENIOR FELLOW, NATO COOPERATIVE CYBER DEFENCE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
“In 2007 the cyber conflict was in Estonia, was the side effect of the things that were happening on the street. On 2008 in Georgia, it was coordinated with the military attacks. In 2010 and 2011 the Arab Spring started from the cyber. So we are now in the situation where all the conflicts first start in the cyber up to the point that some malware companies are saying actually that by the attacks they are, they can say which nations are going into the conflict.” More