MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala -- The Department of the Air Force launched a toolkit March 8, 2023, providing a supplemental resource for commanders to tailor training specifically oriented to the United States’ pacing challenge.
Developed by Air University's China Aerospace Studies Institute, or CASI, the China Toolkit contains a repository of Department of Defense and external videos, presentations, articles and studies on China, the Chinese Communist Party, and the People’s Liberation Army.
CASI’s studies of China’s aerospace forces and the civilian and commercial infrastructure that supports them, offer Department of the Air Force leaders the tools to make informed decisions and determine limitations, opportunities, and challenges in competition.
Ranging from foundational information, strategic context, and specific interest items and capabilities, the resources offer Airmen and Guardians an explanation of why it matters to educate themselves and their units on challenges with respect to China.
Within the China Toolkit, Airmen and Guardians have access to:
- CASI Primer and China 101 Brief explaining trends in China’s military air, space and missile forces
- Diplomatic, Informational, Military and Economic (DIME) spectrum
- People’s Liberation Army breakdown per service
- PLA capabilities and threats videos and overviews
- "In their own Words" series of Chinese transcribed publications
- Think Tank products
"Understanding China is the pacing challenge as articulated in the National Defense Strategy, we must accelerate learning across the Air Force to stay ahead of the pace," said Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr.
The China Toolkit is available here.
CASI serves as the Department of Air Force’s premiere center for the study of China and its aerospace capabilities. The mission of CASI is to advance understanding of the strategy, doctrine, operating concepts, capabilities, personnel, training, organization, of China’s aerospace forces and the civilian and commercial infrastructure that supports them.