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 Staff Sgt. Laiqa Hitt

B-Roll of 180 fps US Army JFEO Paradrop during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21

U.S. Army Pacific Public Affairs Office

July 28, 2021 | 3:11

U.S. Army paratroopers with the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), jump out of a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III onto a drop zone as part of a simulated Joint Forcible Entry Operation during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 in Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia, July 28, 2021. A JFEO is a complex military operation that synchronizes multi-domain capabilities such as air, land, sea, information, space, cyberspace, and other domains to take possession of a key location in enemy territory and use it to introduce forces and capability to obtain military advantage enabling future operations. TS21 supports the U.S. National Defense Strategy by enhancing the ability to protect the homeland and provide combat-credible forces to address the full range of potential security concerns in the Indo-Pacific. This video was shot at 180 fps. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Staff Sgt. Laiqa Hitt)