The Department of the Air Force has released new strategies designed to serve as a strategic roadmap for DAF to operationalize data and artificial intelligence as strategic assets to maintain air and space dominance.
The Air Force’s push to operationalize data and AI as core mission capabilities comes as defense leaders prepare to discuss the future of air and space dominance. Attend the 2026 Air and Space Summit on July 30, and join military officials and industry executives as they explore emerging strategies and technologies transforming operations across two mission-critical domains. Register now!
DAF said Wednesday the AI and data strategies align with the Department of War’s 2026 AI Strategy and the 2026 National Defense Strategy and support priorities to strengthen deterrence and revive the warrior ethos.
Table of Contents
What Are the Strategic Imperatives of the DAF AI Strategy?
The DAF AI Strategy outlines five strategic imperatives that could help the department become an AI-first force: unleash the power of data; accelerate an AI-first culture; build the enterprise AI ecosystem; drive agile adoption and process reform; and modernize assurance for an AI-paced world.
5 Building Blocks to Operationalize the Strategy
- Data, technology and infrastructure
- Talent and workforce
- Partnerships and ecosystem
- Change management and process re-engineering
- AI governance and oversight
“Our focus is not on developing AI for its own sake, but on rapidly delivering tangible, combat-ready capabilities that solve real-world operational problems,” Troy Meink, secretary of the Air Force and a 2026 Wash100 awardee, wrote in the AI Strategy’s foreword. “By becoming an AI-first force, we will empower our warfighters to out-think, out-maneuver, and out-pace any adversary.”
What Are the 3 Pillars of the DAF Data Strategy?
The DAF Data Strategy has three core pillars: streamlined data discovery and accessibility; enhanced data trust and interoperability; increased data-centric decision-making.
The document also outlines four critical building blocks to operationalize the strategy and those are governance and responsibility; data readiness; data-centric workforce; and data mesh environment.
Key Features of the Data Mesh Environment
- A virtually federated enterprise data catalog
- Data asset search tools
- An application programming interface gateway management infrastructure
- Identity, credential and access management capabilities
“In today’s complex global security environment, data and artificial intelligence are no longer support functions—they are the foundation of our strategic overmatch” said Susan Davenport, DAF’S chief data and AI officer. “Execution of these strategies ensure the Department of the Air Force remains agile and decisively ahead of pacing threats.”
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