The portion of the national budget that is allocated to defense covers salaries, training, and health care; maintains and purchases arms, equipment, and facilities; funds military operations; and funds the development of new technologies. RAND analyzes defense expenditures and advises military and civilian decisionmakers on options to maximize the effectiveness, continuity, and innovation of the nation's military force.
Examines the British, French, and German armies' approaches to accommodating significant budget cuts while attempting to sustain their commitment to full spectrum operations.
RAND assessed the savings potential of reconfiguring the U.S. Air Force's combat-coded F-35s into larger squadrons and adjusting the Primary Aerospace Vehicle Authorized mix across the Active and Reserve Components.
RAND assessed the savings potential of reconfiguring the U.S. Air Force's combat-coded F-35s into larger squadrons and adjusting the Primary Aerospace Vehicle Authorized mix across the Active and Reserve Components.
This paper describes a new approach and associated search schemes for optimization under uncertainty. Analysts can apply this method to a problem with a significantly larger number of decision variables, uncertain parameters, and uncertain scenarios.
The Department of Defense constructs, operates, and maintains numerous facilities. This report shares RAND's description and assessment of the process used to obtain life-cycle cost-effective facilities and how it affects construction options.
Examines the United States Army's use of capability portfolio management in acquisitions.
Depot purchased equipment maintenance (DPEM) funds the bulk of the work done at Air Force depots that does not involve the repair of spares or work on modification programs. This report analyzes how to better program for DPEM.
RAND analysts posit that federal budget deficit pressure may result in further Defense Department reductions, and suggest starting from a strategy basis in determining cuts, prioritizing challenges, and identifying where to accept more risk.
Seven NATO countries are reducing the size of their armies, navies, and air forces. The capacity of these major European powers to project military power will be highly constrained.
RAND assessed the contribution of Cost Adjustment Sheets (CASs) to the accuracy of Navy's Flying Hour Program budgets, whether CAS usage is correlated with expenditure-per-flying-hour growth, and why CASs have been used more by the F/A-18 program.
This report presents an analysis of historical use of air-to-ground attacks to assess the economic wisdom of relying primarily on expendable weapons, such as cruise missiles.
When the Soviet Union posed an existential threat to America, there was no room for mistakes. Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, under President Carter, called on his former experience as Secretary of the Air Force (under LBJ in the Vietnam War), as director of Livermore Laboratory, and as director of U.S. Defense Research and Engineering (under Kennedy) to deter the Soviets during the Cold War. Brown's new memoir gives an insider's view.
This publication lists and briefly summarizes some projects undertaken by RAND's three federally funded research and development centers that have helped save the government money or that have identified ways to do so. Amounts saved are estimated.
Congressional concern with cost overruns in some major defense acquisition programs led to an investigation of root causes in six programs, enabling RAND to develop a methodology for carrying out such analyses.
Examines the Air Force experience with should-cost reviews — a special form of contract cost analysis intended to identify contractor inefficiencies and lower costs — and options for enhancing the Air Force's capability to conduct such reviews.
Concern with cost overruns in major defense acquisition programs led Congress to direct investigation of root causes of programs that breached Nunn-McCurdy thresholds. RAND applied its methodology to Excalibur and the Navy's ERP.
Examines the adequacy of disability compensation to offset the reduction in civilian earnings opportunities that are associated with veterans' service-connected disabilities.
A congressionally mandated review of the proposed restructuring of Air Force Materiel Command examined the proposal and its effect on life-cycle management, weapon system sustainment, and overall support to the warfighter.
Examines the Army's supplier relationship management practices, identifying best practices and focusing on how the Army can gain better performance and reduce total costs.
The U.S. Army's two ammunition ports -- Military Ocean Terminal Concord and Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point -- have different funding approaches and accounting systems, and a central question is what the most appropriate financial structure should be.
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