Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

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.

Interviews: 173rd Airborne Brigade Leads Multinational Airborne Operation During Swift Response 2025 in Lithuania

173rd Airborne Brigade

Video by Capt. Jennifer French

May 16, 2025 | 3:02

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade exit a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules over Memel Drop Zone at Gaiziunai Training Area, Lithuania, during a joint forcible entry operation as part of Swift Response 2025, May 16, 2025.

The airborne operation integrated 1,650 paratroopers from five NATO nations—including Germany, Italy, France, and the Netherlands—demonstrating the Alliance’s ability to rapidly project combat power without notice.

Staff Sgt. Wesley Carlson, Infantryman
“Any jump you walk away from is a good one,” said Carlson, infantryman. “We have to keep that partnership strong,” Carlson said. “We’ve got to keep those alliances strong and the only way to do that is by training.”

“Anyone can do it,” Carlson said. “All you do is walk out. Gravity does the rest.”

Spc. Donavan Smith, Infantryman
“The weather is alright. The ground wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be,” Smith said.

“I think airborne operations are important to continue to show our nations enemies that we have capabilities to do it,” Smith said.

“I jump out of airplanes because it’s really fun,” Smith said. “It’s not for everybody, but it’s for me.”

Capt. Dylan Vannostrand, Field Artillery Officer
“Show our enemies what we can do, and we can do it with multinational forces to show them that we are partners,” said Vannostrand.

“Show our enemies that we are a unified force and that if they mess with one of us, they’re going to mess with all of us,” said Vannostrand.

As the U.S. Army’s only Airborne Brigade forward-stationed in Europe, the 173rd serves as the Contingency Response Force for U.S. European Command—able to deploy on short notice to deter aggression and defend NATO’s eastern flank. Swift Response, linked to Lithuania’s national exercise Iron Wolf, validated multinational warfighting readiness with combined air-land operations and medical support.

(U.S. Army video by Capt. Jennifer French) More