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Lightning Over Water
Sharpening America's Light Forces for Rapid Reaction Missions
The fundamental strength of today's Army lies in its ability to fight and win amajor theater-level war, and this capability exists through a deliberate intent to field the most capable mechanized force possible. It is easy to argue that the Army leadership succeeded, since no anticipated enemy force can match the firepower and maneuver capability of a combined arms mechanized U.S. force, equipped with the M1-series Abramsmain battle tank, the M2-series Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, and the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. Nonetheless, as the world continues to thaw out from the imposed stability of a bipolar superpower rivalry, the likelihood of major theater-level war is giving way to increased numbers of smaller regional conflicts and crises. New crises and conflicts are continuing to emerge around the world, and as the frequency of such events continues to increase, so does the need to adjust the U.S. capability for direct response to, and intervention within, these situations. This book represents a compilation of research drawn from numerous studies conducted in the past few years on the topic of improving light air-deployable forces. The focus is on new operational concepts along with the underlying enabling technologies. Three very different means for improving rapid-reaction capability are considered and analyzed in detail, with both strengths and weaknesses included in the assessment. A framework that addresses the process of designing such a force is incorporated.
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Paperback Cover Price: $40.00
Discounted Web Price: $36.00
Pages: 235
ISBN/EAN: 0-8330-2845-6
Contents
Foreword PDF
Preface PDF
Acknowledgments PDF
Chapter One:
Introduction PDF
Chapter Two:
How Current Light Forces Perform Against a Heavy Threat: Establishing a Base Case PDF
Chapter Three:
Following Path 1: Enhancing the Current Light Forces PDF
Chapter Four:
Following Path 2: Making Light Forces Smaller and More Dispersed PDF
Chapter Five:
Following Path 3: Introducing Maneuver to Light Forces PDF
Chapter Six:
Additional Challenges for Light Forces PDF
Chapter Seven:
Conclusions PDF
Epilogue: a Vision into the Future PDF
Appendix A:
A Concise and Selective History of U.S. Light Force Projection PDF
Appendix B:
Rand's High-Resolution Force-On-Force Modeling and Simulation Capability PDF
Appendix C:
Technologies over the Near and Far Term for Light, Rapid-Reaction Forces PDF
Appendix D:
Robotics: Augmenting the Soldier? PDF
Appendix E:
List of Figures PDF
Appendix F:
List of Tables PDF
Appendix G:
List of Abbreviations PDF
Bibliography PDF
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