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 Chelsie Holloway

NIWC Atlantic CANES Rack install on USS Gettysburg

Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic

Sept. 4, 2024 | 1:59

This video shows NIWC Atlantic engineers working on the install of a Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) rack aboard the USS Gettysburg at Naval Station Norfolk.

CANES is the Program of Record (POR) system fielded on U.S. Navy ships, submarines and shore sites and gives warfighters a single system with multiple critical secure and nonsecure enclaves in a scalable network system capable of intra-ship and off-ship internet protocol-based capability. That capability includes network services such as email and web browsing, as well as hosting multiple unclassified and classified administrative, supply and warfighting capabilities, applications and connected systems.