United States Air Force

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Protecting the U.S. Supply on Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles

Our recent RAND report on the global heavy lift launch market highlights the potential for a near term shortage of launch vehicles needed to lift U.S. defense and intelligence satellites to orbit. These satellites are the eyes, ears, networks and timekeepers of U.S. armed services, and an inability to launch them in times of need could compromise national security.

Bonnie L. Triezenberg

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Cryptocurrency, Russian Social Media, Congestion Pricing: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on cryptocurrencies, Russian social media influence, congestion pricing, and more.

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The U.S. Air Force Is Working Harder to Retain Female Officers, and Here's How

Women are underrepresented among the U.S. Air Force's senior leadership. This could be robbing the service of the potential to improve innovation, agility, and performance. The Air Force is working to address diversity in the service, and it continues to work to improve representation of women within its ranks.

Miriam Matthews

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Improving the Effectiveness of Air Force Squadron Commanders

U.S. Air Force commanders around the world understand their responsibilities. But they believe that many unrecognized duties interfere with mission performance. They are generally prepared by professional education and career progression to fulfill their responsibilities, but they could use more instruction on how to command.

John A. Ausink, Miriam Matthews

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Exploring Trust, Leadership, and 'Analytic Courage'

Leaders in business, government, academia, and philanthropy gathered at RAND's headquarters in Santa Monica to pay tribute to the seven-decade relationship between RAND and the U.S. Air Force. Panelists discussed the importance of trusted advice to inform national security descisonmaking.

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Five Simple Strategy Lessons for a New Secretary of Defense

Secretary of Defense James Mattis will need to lay the intellectual groundwork to fulfill President Trump's promise of “a great rebuilding” of the United States military. History suggests that how the strategies are developed may be as important to their success as what they say.

Raphael S. Cohen

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Inside the Fish Bowl: High Stakes Acquisition Protests

The Boeing-Lockheed Martin team filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office asserting that the U.S. Air Force's selection of Northrop Grumman to build the Long Range Strike-Bomber was fundamentally flawed. Work on the program, valued at approximately $80 billion, is now paused.

Edward R. Harshberger, Obaid Younossi, et al.

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Lessons from the Past for the Future of the KC-46A

Analysis suggests that fixed-price contracts have not successfully reduced costs to the DoD associated with developing complex weapon systems. This has implications for the Air Force, given the importance of the ongoing KC-46A program.

Laura H. Baldwin, Mark A. Lorell, et al.

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Peacetime Fuel 'Tankering' Could Save $25 Million Per Year

Fuel tankering involves carrying excess fuel on an aircraft when flying from origins where fuel is less expensive than at the destination. Tankering fuel to a conflict zone such as Afghanistan is almost always cost-effective, but the story is more complex in other regions because of the way fuel is purchased and resold within the DoD itself.

Christopher A. Mouton

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Where Commonality Can Work in a Sixth-Gen Fighter

The DoD plans to fund a Darpa-Air Force-Navy technology demonstration program aimed at developing critical sixth-generation fighter capabilities. It's a sign that the Pentagon is adopting a cost-effective strategy but it will need to remain vigilant to avoid the pitfalls that have caused previous joint fighter programs to fall short of hoped-for cost savings and to accept unwelcome design compromises.

Mark A. Lorell

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The Realities of Silicon Valley's Lack of Workforce Diversity

Major Silicon Valley tech firms have released statistics indicating their workforces are largely made up of white men. Corporate America is on the receiving end of a complex chain of social and educational factors that continue to leave minorities behind in terms of college graduation, and both minorities and women behind in terms of STEM degrees.

Lawrence M. Hanser, Nelson Lim

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Should the U.S. Rely on Russian Rocket Engines?

One of the two launch vehicles that lift U.S. satellites into orbit depends on a rocket engine made by a company located in Russia. Russia's recent clashes with Ukraine and its claims on the Crimean peninsula have caused friction with the United States and thereby raised questions among U.S. policymakers about the potential for an interruption in the supply of the engines.

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Don't Chop the Air Force — Look to the Reserves

The Air Force's latest budget plan proposes to cut 25,000 airmen. The recommendations made by the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force (NCSAF) offer an alternative — and less risky — way forward.

Janine Davidson, Margaret C. Harrell

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Conaton Named Head of International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND

Erin C. Conaton joined RAND this week as director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center. She has 15 years of experience in defense policy, programs and budgeting; military strategy; and military personnel policy and readiness.

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Do Joint Fighter Programs Save Money?

Joint aircraft programs have not historically saved overall life cycle cost. On average, such programs experienced substantially higher cost growth in acquisition (research, development, test, evaluation, and procurement) than single-service programs.

Mark A. Lorell

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Innovation and America's 21st Century Air Force

Lost in the US defense budget debates are deeper issues about the relationship between the military and American society. In many ways, these issues are especially stark for the Air Force. Can the US Air Force improve this connection?

Paula G. Thornhill

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U.S. Air Force Academy Presents Natalie Crawford with Thomas D. White National Defense Award

RAND Senior Fellow Natalie Crawford received the U.S. Air Force Academy's 2012 Thomas D. White National Defense Award for her significant contributions to national security. Previous award winners include the Air Force's first chief of staff, General Carl Spaatz, and actor Bob Hope.

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Natalie Crawford Honored with the Thomas D. White National Defense Award

The United States Air Force Academy has selected Senior Fellow Natalie Crawford as this year's recipient of the Thomas D. White National Defense Award, citing her long-term support of the Academy and her instrumental role in establishing an important and enduring relationship between RAND and the Academy.

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A Cybercrisis Is Inevitable — and Manageable

The United States can manage a cybercrisis by taking steps to reduce the incentives for other states to step into crisis, by controlling the narrative, understanding the stability parameters of the crises, and trying to manage escalation if conflicts arise.

Martin C. Libicki