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The Department of the Air Force’s Office of the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer announced on April 20 the public release of the DAF Data and AI Strategies, a pair of documents intended to make the service an “AI-first” force and embed data and artificial intelligence across operations.
According to the department, the strategies lay out a unified framework to accelerate both enterprise and combat capabilities, aiming to deliver a decision edge over near-peer competitors. The guidance is presented as aligned with the 2026 National Defense Strategy and the 2026 AI Strategy for the Department of War, and it is framed as supporting the Secretary of War’s priorities of reviving the warrior ethos and restoring deterrence through technological superiority.
“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,” said Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink in the AI Strategy’s forward. “By becoming an AI-first force, we will empower our warfighters to out-think, out-maneuver, and out-pace any adversary.”
The documents identify priorities across mission areas including training, readiness and multi-domain operations. They underscore treating data as a strategic asset and call for a decentralized data architecture designed to put trusted, mission-speed information in the hands of operators.
“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, the 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.”
Implementation of the strategies is described as advancing the CDAO’s FY2026 objective to institutionalize data and AI as core mission components. The effort also builds on the Secretary of War’s “Speed Wins” priority, emphasizing rapid delivery of AI-enabled capabilities to operators to meet current and future fights.
