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 Christopher Northfield

The Sediment Budget Analysis System (SBAS)

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

May 19, 2023 | 3:45

The Sediment Budget Analysis System (SBAS) is an ArcGIS toolbox for creating and visualizing sediment budgets. Sediment budgets provide a conceptual and quantitative model of sediment transport magnitudes and pathways for an area over a given time period. Users can define sediment budgets visually by creating littoral cells and fluxes depicting sediment sources into the cell and sediment sinks out of the cells. Transport and volume change rates from literature reviews, field measurements, or other model results are added to this cells and fluxes to quantify change rates. Budgets can be visualized based on areas of erosion/accretion or highlight areas with unaccounted for sediment. Budgets can be published and downloaded from the SBAS Hub viewer.