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 Jeff Chao, Marisa Gaona, Desiree Kapler, Christopher Kieffer

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Engineering With Nature® Toolkit

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

Feb. 24, 2023 | 7:05

Since its inception in 2010, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature® (EWN) initiative has made significant progress in developing and applying practical methods that demonstrate the benefits of an ecosystem approach to infrastructure development and operations.

As a result, EWN features are increasingly being considered as an important component of coastal flood protection and dredged material management strategies. As the incorporation of Natural and Nature-Based Features in USACE projects has become more frequent, the need to accurately and efficiently model and test project designs has also increased. However, hydrodynamic numerical modeling of these features can be a time-consuming process, with limited guidance available on how to execute this workflow.

To solve this challenge, researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center have developed the EWN Modeling Toolkit, a series of tools that enable more timely and accurate modeling of EWN features.