To ensure it can compete—and win—against peer adversaries such as China and Russia in the future, the Air Force must divest its aging equipment and instead invest in more capable and advanced aircraft, said Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, ...
The need to prepare for great power competition means Air Force Special Operations Command is at a historic “inflection point” akin to transformations following the failed 1980 hostage rescue in Iran and four counter-terrorism operations after 9/11. “The rise of belligerent peers and near-peers who ...
The head of Air Combat Command isn't sure the cost of operating the F-35 will hit the desired $25,000 per hour by 2025, and he's headed out to meetings to see what can be done to make it happen. He's also concerned that China will ...
The U.S. military operating in Syria regularly confronts “great power competition” while conducting ongoing counterterrorism operations, facing regular interference and Russian aircraft close by in a confluence of threats, Air Force and Space Force officials said. “Great power competition … is alive and well in ...
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, will soon prove the ability of small groups of Airmen to turn fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft on a flight line the base's commander called a “no-kidding remote environment.” The exercise, part of this year's iteration of Cope North, is one ...
The U.S. Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School is changing the way it molds maintenance and logistics experts in response to the service’s embrace of agile combat employment and to help USAF maintain its competitive edge amid great power competition, 57th Wing Commander ...
China’s nascent identity as a nuclear-capable power and Russia’s nuclear modernization plan underscore the continued need for America’s nuclear triad, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command said Dec. 10. “There's a myth out there that nukes are less relevant,” AFGSC boss Gen. Timothy ...
In order to more effectively compete with Russia and China on the great-power stage, the United States must change the way it perceives—and plays—the game, Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. Timothy M. Ray said Dec. 10. “We're in a long-term, strategic competition with ...
The Air Force has an inadequate understanding of China as a potential adversary, service Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. warned Oct. 28. Brown, speaking during a Hoover Institution virtual event, said that while the National Defense Strategy outlines China as a key ...
Adversaries such as Russia and China have “blurred the lines” when it comes to conventional and nuclear conflict, forcing the U.S. to rethink the way it approaches strategic deterrence. U.S. Strategic Command boss Adm. Charles “Chas” A. Richard said his command is conducting an “exhaustive ...
“Irregular warfare” isn’t just for special operations forces. A newly published summary of an annex to the 2018 National Defense Strategy argues that after decades of asymmetric conflict—wars where enemies have exploited weaknesses in U.S. technology and tactics—the Pentagon is still underprepared for that kind ...
Airmen, from basic military training to graduate studies at Air University, need to increase their study and understanding of potential adversaries, such as China and Russia, to better understand the Air Force’s place in the world and the risk of potential conflicts, the service’s senior ...