Publications

Testimony

China's Overseas Military Diplomacy and Implications for U.S. Interests

Testimony presented before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on January 26, 2023.

Kristen Gunness

Report

How Can the Mobility Air Forces Better Support Adaptive Basing? Summary Analysis, Findings, and Recommendations

The U.S. Air Force is exploring adaptive basing concepts to reduce the vulnerability of U.S. forces and to preserve critical combat capabilities in highly contested environments. This report assesses the impact on the Mobility Air Forces.

David T. Orletsky, Jeffrey S. Brown, Bradley DeBlois, Patrick Mills, Daniel M. Norton, Julia Brackup, Christian Curriden, Adam R. Grissom, Robert A. Guffey

Report

How Can the Mobility Air Forces Better Support Adaptive Basing? Appendixes A–C, Supporting Analyses of Adaptive Basing, Soft Power, and Historical Case Studies

The U.S. Air Force is exploring adaptive basing to reduce vulnerability and preserve critical combat capabilities in highly contested environments. These appendixes present supporting analyses, including political challenges and case studies.

David T. Orletsky, Julia Brackup, Christian Curriden, Adam R. Grissom, Patrick Mills, Robert A. Guffey

Report

Outsmarting Agile Adversaries in the Electromagnetic Spectrum

RAND researchers conducted case studies comprising key elements necessary for creating near-real-time, autonomous, inflight software reprogramming and artificial intelligence–enabled cognitive electronic warfare capabilities for the U.S. Air Force.

Padmaja Vedula, Abbie Tingstad, Lance Menthe, Karishma R. Mehta, Jonathan Roberts, Robert A. Guffey, Natalie W. Crawford, Brad A. Bemish, Richard Payne, Erik Schuh

Report

Outsmarting Agile Adversaries in the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Executive Summary

This executive summary encapsulates the findings in Outsmarting Agile Adversaries in the Electromagnetic Spectrum (RR-A981-1) 2023.

Abbie Tingstad, Padmaja Vedula, Robert A. Guffey, Karishma R. Mehta, Lance Menthe, Jonathan Roberts

Report

Assessing the Implications of Policy Options for the Military Personnel Budget: An Analytic Framework for Evaluating Costs and Trade-Offs

A new tool simulates how various Department of the Air Force personnel policy changes could affect military spending. The tool lets users view cost variances and trade-offs when adjusting such factors as personnel count, rank, and experience levels.

Matthew Walsh, Thomas Light, Raymond E. Conley

Report

Operational Imperative: Investing Wisely to Bolster U.S. Air Bases Against Chinese and Russian Attacks

In this Perspective, the authors synthesize past RAND research on Chinese and Russian missile threats to U.S. overseas air bases and how the U.S. Air Force can cost-effectively counter them.

Christopher Lynch, Rachel Costello, Jacob L. Heim, Andrew Karode, Patrick Mills, Robert S. Tripp, Alan J. Vick

Research Brief

Managing the Escalation Risks of U.S. Military Activities in the Indo-Pacific

This brief describes how the United States can select and shape its military activities in the Indo-Pacific region to deter Chinese aggression against U.S. allies and partners while also limiting the risks of escalatory Chinese reactions.

Bryan Frederick, Kristen Gunness, Bonny Lin, Cortez A. III Cooper, Bryan Rooney, James Benkowski, Nathan Chandler, Cristina L. Garafola, Jeffrey W. Hornung, Karl P. Mueller, Paul Orner, Timothy R. Heath, Christian Curriden, Emily Ellinger

Report

Alternative Approaches for Expanding the Air Force's Task Force True North Program

This report identifies approaches to expanding the Air Force's Task Force True North program, which seeks to provide prevention and treatment programs to airmen in need by embedding health care providers directly into units.

Agnes Gereben Schaefer, John A. Ausink, Thomas Goughnour, Kristie L. Gore, Kimberly Jackson, Paul Emslie

Report

Implementing Technology-Enabled Human Resources Capabilities in the U.S. Air Force: Insight from the Private Sector and Military Services

This report, one in a set aimed at helping the U.S. Air Force succeed in replacing its traditional human resources system with digital talent management systems, identifies steps to implement this technology and align skills with job requirements.

Douglas Yeung, Elicia M. John, Jeannette Gaudry Haynie, James Ryseff, Bonnie L. Triezenberg, Nelson Lim

Report

How the U.S. Air Force Can Incorporate New Data Technologies into Its Talent Management System: Framework and Use Cases for Technology-Enabled Talent Management

The U.S. Air Force and the other military services have a long history of innovation in human resource management (HRM). This report describes how adopting HRM practices that are technology-enabled could lead to more-effective talent management.

David Schulker, Matthew Walsh, Nelson Lim, Ajay K. Kochhar

Report

Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Considerations into the 2021 Department of the Air Force Developmental Education Selection Boards: Analysis of Outcomes

Although demographic data have been masked for most Air Force boards adjudicating career development and promotions, the 2021 Central Professional Military Education Program Boards provided an opportunity to test the effects of unmasking the data.

Raymond E. Conley, Kimberly Curry Hall, Claude Messan Setodji, Stephen W., Jr. Oliver, Sarah W. Denton, C. Ben Gibson, Paul Emslie, Shawn Cochran, Michael Schiefer, Melissa Bauman

Report

Ensuring Mission Assurance While Conducting Rapid Space Acquisition

The authors of this report examine what streamlining techniques are being used to accelerate U.S. Space Force acquisition, the risks associated with those techniques, their potential impact on mission assurance, and the possible mitigations.

Cynthia R. Cook, Éder Sousa, Yool Kim, Megan McKernan, Yuliya Shokh, Sydne J. Newberry, Kelly Elizabeth Eusebi, Lindsay Rand

Report

Improving U.S. Air Force Training Investments: Putting Proficiency First

The U.S. Air Force needs to make near-term investments in its operational training infrastructure to ready airmen for high-end conflict. This Perspective explores which investments are most appropriate and which should receive priority.

Mark Toukan, David Schulker

Report

An Enterprise Cost-Effectiveness Approach to Decisionmaking: Improving Analytic Support to Senior Defense Leaders

The authors propose analytic and programmatic frameworks to explore potential cost-per-effect measures, assess those measures with an enterprise cost-effectiveness approach, and chart a roadmap to add a joint focus in future Air Force decisionmaking.

Christopher A. Mouton, Elizabeth M. Bartels, Aaron B. Frank, John P. Godges, Adam R. Grissom

Report

Managing Escalation While Competing Effectively in the Indo-Pacific

This report assesses how China may react to U.S. military activities in the Indo-Pacific. It provides a framework of factors likely to determine Chinese responses and advises how the characteristics of activities may affect the risk of escalation.

Bryan Frederick, Kristen Gunness, Bonny Lin, Cortez A. III Cooper, Bryan Rooney, James Benkowski, Nathan Chandler, Cristina L. Garafola, Jeffrey W. Hornung, Karl P. Mueller, Paul Orner, Timothy R. Heath, Christian Curriden, Emily Ellinger

Report

Improving the Technical Requirements Development Process for Weapon Systems: A Systems-Based Approach for Managers

Oversights during development of technical requirements for new weapon systems can result in cost or schedule overruns or unsuitable operational performance. This report describes a systems-based approach to help improve this process.

Lauren A. Mayer, William Shelton, Christian Johnson, Daniel Adducchio, Raza Khan, Suzanne Genc, Danielle C. Tarraf, Nahom M. Beyene

Report

Assessment and Selection for U.S. Air Force Special Warfare: Vol. 1, Defining Attributes and Designing Rater Training

Air Force Special Warfare warrants specialized assessment and selection of future operators. The authors examine the nontechnical attributes needed to conduct challenging missions and the process for selecting candidates who can succeed.

Tracy C. Krueger, Sean Robson, Joshua Snoke, Matthew Walsh, Matt Strawn, Anthony Atler, Jason H. Campbell, Isabel Leamon, Ryan Haberman, Barbara Bicksler

Report

Options for Improving Strategic Utilization of the Air Reserve Component for Sustained Active-Duty Missions

The authors analyze how statutes, personnel policies, and resource policies constrain how Air Reserve Component personnel are utilized to perform frequent or long-term active component operational requirements.

Agnes Gereben Schaefer, Kimberly Jackson, Maria McCollester, Thomas Bush, Laura Kupe, Katherine L. Kidder, Paul Emslie, Michael H. Phan, Thomas Goughnour

Brochure

What Leaders Need to Know About Talent Management in the U.S. Air Force

RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) tackles difficult questions and generates actionable insights by combining the very best analytical tools and methods with a distinct interdisciplinary approach.