Report
Use of Predictive Analytic Tools to Assess Technological Emergences and Acquisition Targets
Using patent filings, the authors analyze the current position of the United States relative to China in selected technology areas of interest to the Department of the Air Force.
Jun 2, 2022
Report
Keeping the Defense Industrial Base Afloat During COVID-19: A Review of Department of Defense and Federal Government Policies and Investments in the Defense Industrial Base
Concerns about the financial solvency of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) during the pandemic prompted the U.S. government to make policy changes to support the DIB. The authors summarize investments in the DIB made during the pandemic.
Dec 21, 2021
Research Brief
The Growing Exposure of Air Force Installations to Natural Disasters
Some Department of the Air Force installations face high levels of exposure to flooding, wildfires, or high winds. Twenty installations have areas with high or very high wildfire potential.
Sep 16, 2021
Report
Developing the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: An Opportunity to Reduce Risk and Impacts of Future Spills in Freshwater
In 2016, Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard to establish the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response. This report makes recommendations for the center, its staffing, potential partnerships, and location.
Aug 31, 2021
Report
Acquiring a Mosaic Force: Issues, Options, and Trade-Offs
Mosaic Warfare envisions more fractionated, heterogeneous forces, dynamically composed on tactical timelines. In this report, the authors present insights from a policy game to assess alternative governance models for acquiring a Mosaic force.
Aug 9, 2021
Report
Grounded: An Enterprise-Wide Look at Department of the Air Force Installation Exposure to Natural Hazards: Implications for Infrastructure Investment Decisionmaking and Continuity of Operations Planning
The authors of this report consider the exposure of Department of the Air Force (DAF) installations to flooding, high winds, and wildfires—hazards that have affected DAF installations in the recent past.
Aug 9, 2021
Report
Fighter Basing Options to Improve Access to Advanced Training Ranges
The authors explore U.S. Air Force squadron restationing and range upgrade options that can maximize access to advanced live training ranges while evaluating cost and risk measures associated with these options.
Feb 5, 2021
Report
Analysis of Global Management of Air Force War Reserve Materiel to Support Operations in Contested and Degraded Environments
In this report, RAND researchers evaluate management approaches and global prepositioning strategies for war reserve materiel, which may help mitigate some of the U.S. military's vulnerabilities when operating in a contested environment.
Jan 14, 2021
Tool
A Modeling Framework for Optimizing U.S. Air Force Fighter Pilot Access to Advanced Training Ranges
This tool presents the technical details of an optimization model for the U.S. Air Force to analyze the potential effectiveness of different combinations of range upgrades and squadron restationing to improve access to advanced ranges.
Sep 24, 2020
Report
Evaluating Alternative Maintenance Manpower Force Structure Concepts for the F-35A
The authors of this report evaluate the costs and benefits of maintenance manpower force structures in the U.S. Air Force that merge maintenance career fields in different ways, including alternatives that are being explored by the Air Force today.
Sep 3, 2020
Report
Building Agile Combat Support Competencies to Enable Evolving Adaptive Basing Concepts
RAND researchers review the motivations for adaptive basing, describe a footprint model used for estimating its implications for Agile Combat Support (ACS), and discuss recommendations for the ACS community and the U.S. Air Force at large.
Apr 16, 2020
Report
Optimizing Army Medical Materiel Strategy
This report describes how the U.S. Army can optimize its medical materiel strategies for efficient medical equipping readiness.
Oct 30, 2019