US defence secretary halts key Air Force restructuring efforts amid leadership review

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed the Department of the Air Force to halt all planning related to its "Re-Optimisation for Great Power Competition" initiative. 

Notably, the Air Force has suspended efforts on the Integrated Capabilities Command, the new body designed to manage the planning and requirements process for developing the service’s future systems, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

“On Feb. 6, the Secretary of Defense directed the Department of the Air Force to pause all planning actions connected to its Re-Optimizing for Great Power Competition efforts,” the spokesperson said. 

“The planning pause remains in effect until a Senate-confirmed Secretary and Undersecretary of the Air Force are in place and have the opportunity to review the initiatives. The Department of the Air Force welcomes the opportunity for our new leaders to assess all ongoing actions and ensure compliance with DOD directives. We will issue clarifying guidance, as necessary.”  

This directive raises numerous questions regarding the 24 “key decisions” announced by the Department of the Air Force in February 2024. At the time, then-Secretary Frank Kendall stated that senior leadership had concluded the department was not properly structured for "Great Power Competition"—a term first introduced during President Donald Trump's administration to describe the Pentagon's strategy for deterring and countering China. 

The 24 key decisions encompassed initiatives such as the creation of the Integrated Capabilities Command for the Air Force, Space Futures Command for the Space Force, and a renewed focus on large-scale exercises, starting with a massive one in the Pacific in the summer of 2025. A defence official with knowledge of the pause order informed that "readiness and lethality are central to both the Department of the Air Force’s efforts to realign with the threat environment and the new administration’s priorities."

The official emphasised that everyone in the Department of the Air Force is fully on board with the incoming civilian leadership team, once confirmed, reviewing not only the reasoning behind the warfighter and readiness initiatives but also the substantial progress made so far. "To be clear, the department is already actively moving forward to implement the temporary planning pause," the official said. 

Some key decisions have already been implemented. For example, the Air Force has set up a Warrant Officer Training School and graduated its first new class of warrant officers in decades. The Space Force revamped its career paths by creating an Officer Training Course that teaches all new officers the fundamentals of space, intelligence, and cyber operations before allowing them to specialise.

By Naila Huseynova