I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5231 
To direct the Secretary of the Air Force to develop a force design for 
the Air Force and Space Force. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 18, 2023 
Mr. BACON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Air Force to develop a force 
design for the Air Force and Space Force. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of the Air 
Force Future Force Design Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FUTURE FORCE DESIGN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
THE AIR FORCE. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
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(1) the Department of the Air Force has made 
significant progress in organizing, training, and 
equipping the Air Force and Space Force to address 
the needs of the Joint Force and align with the cur-
rent National Defense Strategy and National Mili-
tary Strategy; and 
(2) to be prepared to effectively deter and de-
feat a peer adversary, the Department must address 
force design requirements that will enable equipment 
modernization, organizational restructure, and ca-
pacity adjustments to meet the challenges presented 
by the People’s Republic of China. 
(b) FORCE DESIGN REQUIRED.—Not later than Au-
gust 31, 2024, the Secretary of the Air Force shall develop 
a force design for the Air Force and Space Force projected 
through 2050. 
(c) ELEMENTS.—The force design under subsection 
(b) shall address— 
(1) the concepts, capabilities, and structural 
elements (including size and form) of the Air Force 
and Space Force that are necessary to ensure those 
forces effectively execute their core functions 
through 2050 in support of the National Defense 
Strategy and the National Military Strategy; 
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(2) force structure, including the development 
of capabilities (including platforms and systems) at 
the right level of capacity to address the challenges 
outlined by the National Defense Strategy and Na-
tional Military Strategy; 
(3) force composition, including recruitment 
and development of the human capital, effective dis-
tribution of forces in the total force and policies to 
increase career flexibility across the different compo-
nents; 
(4) organizational design, including develop-
ment of potential models to increase agility and 
operational effectiveness across the Air Force and 
Space Force; and 
(5) such other matters as the Secretary of the 
Air Force determines to be relevant. 
(d) INFORMATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 
days after completion of the force design required under 
subsection (b), the Secretary of the Air Force shall— 
(1) submit a summary of the force design to 
the congressional defense committees; and 
(2) provide to the congressional defense com-
mittees a briefing on the force design. 
(e) CONGRESSIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEES DE-
FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘congressional defense 
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committees’’ has the meaning given that term in section 
101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code. 
Æ 
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