Air Force Confirms China Aerospace Studies Institute Remains Operational Amid Civilian Staff Reductions

Washington — The Air Force is cutting civilian positions within a service-run organization focused on Chinese airpower, but the research body will stay open, an Air Force spokesperson said.

In a statement to Breaking Defense, the spokesperson said the cuts stem from an ongoing civilian restructuring within the Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command, meaning civilian staff will no longer be assigned to the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI). The spokesperson added that CASI’s mission will continue, carried out by assigned military personnel.

Affected civilian employees will remain in their current roles until further notice and will be considered for reassignment, the spokesperson noted.

CASI is a premier government-run think tank that regularly publishes research on Beijing’s air and space capabilities. Its findings are shared across the U.S. military and the broader defense community to enhance understanding of China’s military strength and inform policy and strategy.

The institute’s most recent publication appeared Monday. Titled “From Vision to Vigilance: How Beijing’s Space‑Science Roadmap Builds a Real‑Time Kill Webb,” the paper examines how technologies ostensibly aimed at space exploration could instead provide persistent, multi‑spectral surveillance across the Pacific with near‑real‑time updates, feeding into a “kill web”—an integrated sensor network capable of tracking and striking targets through multiple avenues.

Concerns about CASI first emerged on Monday when a civilian employee posted online that their position was being eliminated, suggesting the Air Force intended to “shutter” the institute. The timing, coinciding with the week Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the United States, raised questions about analogous Army and Navy study programs.

The Naval War College told Breaking Defense that it expects no changes to staffing or capacity at the China Maritime Studies Institute. The Army University did not respond to a request for comment regarding the status of the China Landpower Studies Center, which is administered by the U.S. Army War College.

The reduction at CASI mirrors similar moves promoted last year during the peak of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, when an analysis by Breaking Defense and the American Enterprise Institute showed tens of thousands of civilian positions cut across the Defense Department. Subsequent deep cuts have led the Air Force to pursue thousands of new hires, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Diana Stancey in Washington contributed to this report.

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