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 Oswaldo Delacruz

Bombs To Bedside

Air Force Research Laboratory

Dec. 26, 2016 | 5:55

In the late 1990s, the Air Force was looking for a system to transmit data from strain gauges and other sensors during weapons tests, as bombs or missiles were launched from aircraft. A small company in Ohio believed its new, wireless brainwave monitor might hold the key.

With funding from the Small Business Innovation Research program, CleveMed transformed their wireless monitor into a small, low cost, flight test data acquisition system that could withstand severe conditions and deliver the data as the Air Force required. That SBIR work to perfect and ruggedize the original technology allowed CleveMed to push the device into a number of new applications, and today it’s at the heart of a popular home test kit for sleep apnea.

CleveMed’s technology is just one of many successful innovations enabled by the US Air Force’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.