The Air Force has spiked plans to activate a new command that was pitched as a key part of the service’s efforts to modernize its capabilities and stay competitive against China in a future conflict.
Ending the creation of a permanent Integrated Capabilities Command—a major command slated to be led by a three-star general focused on modernizing and prioritizing the service’s future acquisitions—reverses a key initiative by former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. The command was stood up in a provisional capacity last year, and the effort was paused by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in February. The provisional ICC’s responsibilities will now be folded into the existing, but soon-to-be restructured, Air Force Futures organization by April 1, 2026.
“This restructuring will accelerate the delivery of combat power, improve efficiency, and shorten the decision timeline,” Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in an emailed press release.
Creation of a command focused on modernizing the service’s acquisitions in future conflicts was seen by past Air Force planners as a way to lift that responsibility from major commands to help them focus on other priorities. It was the cornerstone of the service’s sweeping “Reoptimization for Great Power Competition” initiative started under former Air Force Secretary Kendall and soon-to-be retired Air Force Chief of Staff David Allvin, who was ushered out for his support of the strategy.
Air Force officials said the service’s futures organization, known as the A5/7, plans to create a new role of “Chief Modernization Officer,” which will be focused on strategy and force design, mission integration, capability development, and modernizing the service’s platforms.
The provisional ICC stood up in September 2024 and was led by Maj. Gen. Mark Mitchum. An Air Force official confirmed that Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi, commander of the Air Force Warfare Center, will head up the A5/7 reorganization.
Defense budget experts weren’t surprised by the decision to end the ICC, saying it followed a trend of the Air Force casting aside parts of the former service secretary’s reorganization plan.
“This is really a course correction on the whole reorganization that Frank Kendall put in place,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
While the effort was viewed as a way to relieve the burden of modernization efforts from groups such as Air Force Global Strike Command and Air Force Combat Command, Harrison added it also removed a key responsibility from them, inviting criticism.
“I think Kendall knew that when he tried to make the changes when he was within the Air Force,” Harrison said. “He got a lot of pushback from the major commands then.”
Meink, speaking to reporters at the Air & Space Force Association’s conference last month, said he was “getting close” to making decisions on the reorganization plans tied to China, but added, “I’m not a big believer in the competition side of the house” and reiterated the administration’s priorities for supporting homeland defense.
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