A Look to the Future.

W. B. Graham

Expert InsightsPublished 1974

Discusses changes under way in the world of military technology that basically affect the nature of war and the missions of air forces in particular. The changes have not come from official military requirements any more than from radar, jet engines, missiles, A-bombs, ICBMs, RPVs--or the longbow 600 years ago. Political control over the military is becoming stronger; real-time remote sensing and communications holds the potential of direct intervention by higher echelons without dependence on the chain of command. Ever-increasing costs and concern for life combine to change the classical aims of war to those of efficiency, accuracy, and minimal damage. Technological developments are encouraging application of large endurance-oriented vehicles and work against high performance per se. What shall be the USAF response to these challenges? (Presented at NARPV Symposium at Wright-Patterson AFB, May 1974.) 10 pp. Ref.

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Graham, W. B., A Look to the Future. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1974. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5251.html.
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