Project Air Force is Making a Difference with the Air Force

Research Spotlight

  • A facility at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael, October 10, 2018, photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Conroy/U.S. Air Force

    How Can the Department of the Air Force Prepare for Natural Hazards?

    Some Air Force facilities are exposed to flooding, high winds, wildfires, or even multiple hazards. Future costs of damages are uncertain, and climate change could affect the frequency and scale of these hazards. The process for making investment decisions regarding resilience should be flexible.

Recent Work

  • 3D illustration of a conceptual maze. Shortcut between points A and B or finding the shortest path concept, photo by livier Le Moal/Getty Images/iStockphoto

    Leveraging Complexity in Great-Power Competition and Warfare: Volume I

    Aug 26, 2021

    The United States should aim to minimize the element of complexity for itself while maximizing it for its adversary in great-power competition and warfare. But what does complexity mean in an Air Force context? And how can it be used as a method of attack?

  • F-35 Lightning II approaching with afterburner on and condensation trails at the wings tip, photo by rancho_runner/Getty Images/iStockphoto

    Leveraging Complexity in Great-Power Competition and Warfare: Volume II

    Aug 26, 2021

    The Air Force should apply a complexity lens through which to review ongoing and future efforts to best leverage complexity to U.S. decision advantage. The technical companion to an initial exploration includes a literature review and a user manual.

  • Joint operations in the Pacific, photo by U.S. Navy/Chief Photographer’s Mate Todd P. Cichonowicz

    Aligning Roles and Missions for Future Multidomain Warfare

    Aug 19, 2021

    The formal decisions, documents, and events that established the roles, missions, and functions (RMF) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the military services in the early postwar years are over 70 years old. Is the existing RMF framework fundamentally sound, requiring only modest adjustments?

  • Airmen join in a group huddle at the conclusion of the Police Week Memorial 5K Ruck March at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 15, 2017. The airmen are assigned to the 374th Security Forces Squadron, photo by Airman 1st Class Donald Hudson/U.S. Air Force

    Championing the Agile Air Force Officer Career

    Jul 30, 2021

    Some human resource management practices might hinder the military services' abilities to effectively manage their human capital. What is the potential utility of some new flexibilities for improving the management of Air Force human capital?

  • Col. Darren Brumfield, right, Air Force Global Strike Command chief of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and helicopter maintenance division, recites the oath of office during his promotion ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Nov. 30, 2020. The oath of office cites, Air Force officers will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, photo by Staff Sgt. Philip Bryant/U.S. Air Force

    Department of the Air Force Officer Talent Management Reforms

    Jul 27, 2021

    The Department of the Air Force is revamping the way it manages officer development and promotion. As part of this overhaul, the Line of the Air Force is being split into six separate developmental categories. How will interdependent policy changes affect outcomes of the personnel system?

  • Staff members of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency promote social distancing at the Ikorodu Community School in Lagos, Nigeria, photo by Adeyinka Yusuf/Getty Images

    The Pandemic's Effects on Strategic Competition in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Jul 20, 2021

    What have been the public health, political, and economic ramifications of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa? And has the pandemic allowed China and Russia to gain more influence on the continent?

  • Marines with Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command pose for photos in the cyber operations center at Lasswell Hall

    Chinese Disinformation Efforts on Social Media

    Jul 19, 2021

    Given rising tensions between the United States and China, understanding how the People's Liberation Army thinks about the use of disinformation campaigns on social media has emerged as an important question. The authors of this report identify key Chinese practices and the supporting infrastructure and conditions that such campaigns require to be successful, concluding that China is using Taiwan as a test bed for developing attack vectors.