Air Force Eliminates China Aerospace Studies Institute

The U.S. Air Force will eliminate all 10 civilian positions at the China Aerospace Studies Institute effective Oct. 1. The cuts, part of a Department-wide civilian restructuring effort, became public when a note from a CASI employee circulated on social media Monday. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed civilian positions will no longer be assigned to CASI under the ongoing restructure within Air Education and Training Command. The affected employees will become 'surplus federal employees'.

Mission continuity through military personnel

Despite the removal of civilian roles, the Air Force states CASI’s mission will continue. Assigned military service members will carry out the institute's research and analysis tasks. No military positions are affected by the current cuts. CASI is a government analytical center that regularly publishes unclassified research on Beijing’s air and space forces.

Institute background and recent activities

The China Aerospace Studies Institute was established in 2017 and formally chartered on June 15, 2021, by then-Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. Its charter tasked it with studying 'everything that flies' in China, designating it as the Air Force’s leading center for unclassified study of China's aerospace capabilities. The institute was directed to use publicly available native-language sources and publish its findings.

CASI translated PLA textbooks and doctrine, published reference primers, and ran a free three-day PLA Fundamentals course requiring no security clearance. Its biennial conference in May drew over 250 attendees. In 2025, nearly 80,000 people visited CASI’s website and downloaded more than 50,000 reports. The site remains live and posted a new paper on Sept. 21 titled 'From Vision to Vigilance: How Beijing’s Space-Science Roadmap Builds a Real-Time Kill Web.' This latest work examines how space-exploration technologies could enable persistent multispectral surveillance over the Pacific Ocean, noting such capabilities could be integrated into a military sensor network for tracking and striking targets.

Reactions and broader context

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from defence analysts. Brendan Mulvaney, the former director of CASI, described the fallout as 'effectively ending CASI.' He stated, "All of the research has always been done by the civilian personnel." Mulvaney said the cut was unrelated to CASI’s mission performance and resulted from a Department of the Air Force quota to reduce civilian jobs, forwarded because the institute does not produce professional military education students.

Will Yale, a Navy surface warfare officer, called the move "extremely unfortunate and regrettable that the Department of the Air Force has decided to shutter CASI." He described the institute as one of the most prominent in its field. Ryan Fedasiuk, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, labeled it a devastating loss and an incomprehensible decision. Officials note the action does not affect similar China-focused research centers run by the Navy, Army, or Marine Corps.

The institute had already lost staff a year ago due to a Defense Department efficiency drive. CASI has two master sergeant billets and a deputy position that has remained unfilled for over a year. Its future public footprint is uncertain, including whether its reports, translations, and course materials will remain available. Employees affected by the decision will remain in their current positions until further notice and will subsequently be evaluated for possible reassignment.