Air Force leaders axe major China-focused organizational efforts
The service continues to unravel its “reoptimization for Great Power Competition” strategy.
Thomas Novelly | December 2, 2025 05:15 PM ET
Air Force leaders are axing more major organizational changes started under the Biden administration such as reorienting commands, creating new offices, and shifting combat forces for a potential fight with China, the service’s top leaders said Tuesday.
The service will no longer stand up Air Development Command, which aimed to subsume Air Education and Training Command and further combine the service’s force-development efforts, consolidate its functional managers, and create several new centers of excellence for certain career fields. Instead, AETC will retain its name and responsibilities, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink and Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in a press release that described a memo sent to their service the previous day.
Nor will the service reorient Air Combat Command to “focus on generating and presenting ready forces,” but rather keep it working to “organize, train, and equip combat ready Airmen,” the release said.
The service will:
Stop establishing its Air Base Wing concept.
Cancel plans for a new Program Assessment and Evaluation Office to handle resource analysis.
Not create an Air Force Materiel Command Information Dominance Systems Center, Air Force Nuclear Systems Center, or an Air Dominance Systems Support Center to sustain and improve aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/12/air-force-leaders-axe-major-china-focused-organizational-efforts-new-memo-reveals/409883/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story
