US Air Force to shut down research centre focusing on Chinese military

The US Air Force is shutting down a major research centre dedicated to open-source analysis of the Chinese military’s air, space, cyber and missile capabilities.

The China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) said in a statement on Tuesday that Air University, the US Air Force institution under which it operates, had decided to close the institute, with all of its roles becoming unfunded from October 1.

CASI said its employees would continue to work and get paid for now and that it expected to honour its existing commitments “through at least March of 2027”.

The institute will continue publishing articles and reports already in the pipeline and conducting courses on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that it has already committed to provide to air force units. However, a 10th anniversary event scheduled for February will be cancelled.