Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

“I’m extremely proud of the Space Force and all the good it has accomplished. But, as good as we are, as much as we’ve done, as far as we’ve come, it’s not enough. We are not yet optimized for Great Power Competition.”

~ Chief of Space Operations
Gen. Chance Saltzman

The establishment of the U.S. Space Force was a direct response to threats arising from Great Power Competition in the space domain. Nevertheless, our legacy roots leave us sub-optimized for the security environment confronting us today, and we must finish fine-tuning the service to continue meeting its National Defense Strategy responsibilities

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.

The space domain is no longer benign; it has rapidly become congested and contested.

We must enhance our capabilities, develop Guardians for modern warfare, prepare for the high intensity fight, and strengthen our power projection to thrive and win in this new era of Great Power Competition.

Video by Airman Keagan Lee

RAGING GUNFIGHTER 25-1 B-Roll Reel, Pt 1

366th Fighter Wing

Oct. 22, 2024 | 5:39

This b-roll package features Airmen from the 41st Airlift Squadron piloting a C-130J Super Hercules and Airmen from the 366th Fighter Wing loading equipment onto a C-130J at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport in Idaho Falls, Idaho, during exercise RAGING GUNFIGHTER 25-1, Oct. 22-26, 2024. Airmen from Mountain Home Air Force Base conducted RAGING GUNFIGHTER 25-1, a routine operational readiness exercise, at various locations throughout the Mountain West subregion of the United States, beginning Oct. 21 and lasting for approximately 10 days. The Air Force is reoptimizing its organizational structures, warfighting concept of operations, force presentation and generation models, and how it prepares Airmen to ensure they are ready for a battlespace that is vastly different from the past 20 years of counterinsurgency operations. (U.S. Air Force video by Airman 1st Class Keagan Lee)