Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the service is accelerating innovation, enhancing readiness, and offering stronger support for personnel to maintain U.S. air and space superiority amid growing global threats.
“Today the U.S. has dominance. Our job is to maintain that dominance,” Meink said during his remarks at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Sept 22.
Meink warned that the United States now faces strategic competitors – chiefly China – who have spent years deliberately chipping away at America’s dominance in air and space. Although the United States retains a lead, he cautioned, the margin is shrinking.
He stressed that maintaining an edge requires innovation at every level of the service, from acquisition strategies to personnel development and support.
Modernization is at the core of the effort, Meink said, outlining what he called the most aggressive campaign in the Air Force’s 78-year history. Priorities include upgrading the land-based nuclear arsenal through the Sentinel project, advancing space control capabilities, expanding satellite launch capacity, and developing uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Modernization extends beyond hardware and platforms, Meink noted, emphasizing that technology alone isn’t enough.
“We have to be innovative in how we operate. We have to be innovative in how we maintain our systems. We have to be innovative in how we train. We really need to be innovative across the board,” Meink said. “And if we’re not thinking that way from our level all the way down to the individual Airman or Guardian at the very lowest ranks, we’re not going to be successful.”
On readiness, Meink identified key challenges, including equipment resilience in contested environments, spare parts reliability, data use in maintenance, and installation readiness.
He also underscored the need to care for Airmen and Guardians, calling the workforce the service’s greatest asset.
“We are asking them to maintain and work on some of the most technical systems … We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support them,” Meink said. “There is no replacement for technical skill in acquisitions.”