September 10, 2018
Discussion with Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Heather Wilson
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) hosted a discussion with Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Dr. Heather Wilson, on strategic competition, Air Force readiness and force structure challenges, and acquisition reform. The discussion, moderated by CNAS Senior Fellow Susanna V. Blume, touched on the how the Air Force will realize the National Defense Strategy and change to account for an era of renewed strategic competition with China and Russia.
Synopsis of Secretary Wilson’s Opening Remarks:
The United States now exists in an era of great power competition, as outlined in the National Defense Strategy. The Air Force needs to adjust to the return of great power competition by preparing for high-end fights. The Air Force’s FY2019 and FY2020 budgets have both been heavily influenced by the NDS. There is a need to reorganize how the Air Force trains, how it’s equipped, and how it’s structured to face new threats posed by adversaries like China and Russia.
To the Air Force, the squadron is the fundamental fighting unit and it is also the unit that needs to be built out further. The number of fighter squadrons has dropped dramatically since beginning of engagement in the Middle East 27 years ago. The squadron is the heart and fist of the Air Force, as it’s the unit that creates a physical effect. The question that needs to be answered regarding how to best implement the NDS is “what kind of fist, with how much of a punch” is needed? Answering this question will help create a plan to build the Air Force needed for future fights.
The full video is available online here.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Defense / Transatlantic Security
When Defense Becomes Destruction: Austria-Hungary’s Mistake and Ukraine’s RiskThis article was originally posted on War on the Rocks. The southeastern Polish city of Przemyśl, with its elegant 19th century Habsburg-era train station, remains one of the ...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
Commentary
Defense / Transatlantic Security
Ukraine’s Catch-22 MomentThis article was originally published in the Financial Times. In Joseph Heller’s wartime classic, Catch-22, the protagonist Yossarian seeks out the US army surgeon Doc Daneeka...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
CNAS Insights | Budgetary Own Goals Undermine “Speed and Volume”
Commentary
On November 7, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth laid out a plan to overhaul the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) acquisition system. Placing an emphasis on delivering new capa...
By Philip Sheers, Carlton Haelig & Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Drones: Who Is Making the New Weapons of War?
Podcast
From Ukraine and Russia to Gaza and Sudan, drones have become a key weapon of war. Which companies are making them, and profiting from this rapidly expanding but controversial...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
