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Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

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Department of the Air Force
 

 

 

LATEST NEWS

 

“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
 

Air Force & Space Force announce sweeping changes to maintain superiority amid Great Power Competition

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.

 

Ban Nhong-Plong Elementary School Project Cobra Gold 2015
U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific
Video by Sgt. Robert Bush
Jan. 31, 2015 | 4:49
Service members with the Royal Thai Army, Malaysian Armed Forces and U.S. Marines from Engineer Company, Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing build walls during construction of a new classroom for the Ban Nhong-Plong Elementary School as part of exercise Cobra Gold 2015 in Khok Samrong, Lop Buri, Thailand, Jan. 31, 2015. Cobra Gold, in its 34th iteration, focuses on humanitarian civic action, community engagement, and medical activities to support the needs and humanitarian interests of civilian populations around the region. (Official U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt Robert W. Bush) More


Space Force Great Power Competition

 
Department of the Air Force