Vol. 59, February 2025
Key Points
Airpower and spacepower are the driving
forces behind every national security
option at the president’s command. No joint
military operation can be conducted without
some element of the Department of the Air
Force (DAF)—a claim no other military
department can make. The Air Force and
the Space Force are America’s indispensable
military branches, essential to the success
of any U.S. military operation.
President Trump inherited an Air Force that
is older, smaller, and less ready than it has
ever been since its founding as a separate
service in 1947. Current plans continue
shrinking the force over the next five years
unless there is immediate action to reverse
course. Air Force leaders have sounded this
warning bell for years.
President Trump’s initiative to establish
the U.S. Space Force has been stifled by
limited resources, inadequate numbers of
personnel, and resistance to consolidating
Department of Defense (DOD) space
agencies. These impediments inhibit the new
service from executing its core missions.
Space Force leaders recognize this and must
be empowered for success.
The DOD should adopt and apply cost-per-
effect force planning analysis to ensure
it makes the most prudent investment
decisions across all the services.
President Trump must prioritize fixing the
Department of the Air Force, otherwise the
consequences will be disastrous for the
nation’s defense. The cost of this effort will
require an increase of at least $45 billion
annually to begin recovering the Air Force’s
decline and adequately fund the Space Force.
Airpower and spacepower are the driving forces behind every
national security option at the president’s command. Yet, President Trump
has inherited a Department of the Air Force (DAF) with two services in
critical condition, though for dierent reasons. After decades in decline,
the Air Force is now older, smaller, and less ready than it has ever been in
its history. Without immediate action to reverse this course, current plans
will continue to shrink the force over the next ve years. Conversely, while
President Trump stood up the U.S. Space Force, the service struggles to
achieve its missions, impeded by insucient funding, inadequate numbers
of personnel, and resistance to consolidating Department of Defense (DOD)
space agencies. President Trump’s administration must prioritize xing the
Department of the Air Force, as the consequences of keeping the status quo
will be disastrous for the nation’s defense.
e priorities of DOD leadership and Congress during the Trump
administration must be to rebuild and restore the Air Force to global
preeminence. e same resolve will be required to fully resource the Space
Force to achieve space superiority—to grow and catch up with the myriad
requirements and expectations on America’s newest military service to ensure
overall U.S. military success. e leadership of the Space Force and the Air
Force are doing everything they possibly can to maximize the warghting
capability and capacity of their respective services within the budgets they
have been issued. However, they have come to the point where they simply
can no longer meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy without
an infusion of additional resources. e cost of the eort to reverse the Air
Force’s decline and adequately fund the Space Force will require an increase
of at least $45 billion annually, combined. e xes must start now, or the
United States risks losing the next major war.
Abstract
Air Force and Space Force Vectors for
the Incoming Trump Defense Team
by Lt Gen David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.)
Dean, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
and Col Mark A. Gunzinger, USAF (Ret.)
Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
MITCHELL INSTITUTE
Policy Paper
