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Two of the United States’ top Air Force leaders set out a clear and urgent agenda for the future. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and Chief of Staff General David Allvin spoke with one voice on the challenges ahead: the need to stay ready, modernise faster than adversaries, drive innovation at every level, and support the people who make it all possible.
Speaking at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor on 22 September 2025, the senior leaders of the US Air Force and US Space Force outlined the largest modernisation and transformation of the forces since their inception.
Gen Allvin’s central message was blunt. The Air Force must “move at a pace to win”. He drew on the example of Operation Midnight Hammer, the largest kinetic use of B-2 bombers in history, to illustrate what readiness and decisive action look like in practice.
“What the nation needs is one Air Force, integrated, aligned, focused, ready to fight … moving at the pace to win,” he said. His warning was equally clear: “The adversary won’t take a knee.”
For Secretary Meink, the focus was firmly on modernisation and innovation. He described this moment as “the most aggressive modernisation campaign in its 78-year history”, noting that some front-line aircraft, such as the KC-135, are still older than the pilots flying them.
Yet even as these ageing platforms continue to perform, the Air Force is moving rapidly to introduce the F-47 sixth-generation fighter, with production modules currently being built and first flight expected by 2028, to expand the F-35 and F-15EX fleets, update the B-52, and roll out the B-21 bomber.
Beyond the aircraft, Secretary Meink emphasised space control, satellite launch capacity, uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and greater munitions production as critical areas of investment.
Both leaders made clear that technology alone is not enough. Secretary Meink insisted the Air Force must “innovate faster than our adversaries” not only in weapons systems but also in operations, training, sustainment and acquisition.
Gen Allvin pointed to airmen’s ingenuity as proof of what’s possible, citing how the FALCO system, designed to counter hostile drones, was integrated onto an F-15 within a single month, delivering a precision kill at less than a 10th the cost of a traditional missile.
At the heart of both addresses was the recognition that the strategic environment is tightening. Secretary Meink cautioned that competitors like China have spent decades eroding America’s edge in air and space power. The only way to counter this, he argued, is to stay ahead through relentless modernisation, sharper innovation, and an unshakeable readiness to operate in contested environments.
Yet for all the focus on systems and strategies, both men underscored that people remain the decisive advantage. “People are the most important thing we have; the most critical,” Secretary Meink said.
“I have zero concern about the ability of the department to employ combat power. We have the best trained, most talented workforce the Department of the Air Force has ever had.”
His call to action was to ensure airmen and Guardians have the right tools, support and scale to succeed.
Together, Secretary Meink and Gen Allvin painted a picture of a force at a crossroads, driven by urgency, defined by innovation and reliant above all on the skill and resilience of its people.
Their message was unmistakable: to safeguard superiority in air and space, the US must act quickly, modernise ruthlessly, and never forget the human element that turns technology and strategy into combat power.
