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Air Defense

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As aviation technology has advanced, the ability to defend a country’s air space has become increasingly important. RAND research has evaluated aircraft options and costs, defensive systems and strategies, deployment, and the importance of international partnerships in an effort to help the U.S. and allied air forces assess and enhance their ability to combat enemy air strikes—for national defense as well as in military operations around the globe.

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Where Russia Markets and Sells Advanced Conventional Weapons
Russia uses arms exports to further relations with other countries, influence their political and military leaders, and further its broader foreign and defense policy goals. A series of maps show the extent of its marketing, negotiating, and sales of key weapons systems.
Jun 11, 2021
Report
Winning the Battle of the Airfields
Airfields have long been recognized as essential military facilities. And combatants have gone to great lengths to destroy enemy aircraft on the ground and to deny the use of airfields through attacks. What enduring lessons do RAND's seven decades of work on air base defense and attack provide?
Feb 24, 2021

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Report
Command and Control of Joint Air Operations in the Pacific: Methods for Comparing and Contrasting Alternative Concepts
This report recommends methods for comparing and contrasting alternative organizational concepts for command and control of joint air operations in the Pacific in different scenarios.
Jan 18, 2018
Report
People's Liberation Army Air Force Operations over Water: Maintaining Relevance in China's Changing Security Environment
The report assesses notable developments in and implications of China's emerging aerospace expeditionary and power-projection capabilities, focusing particularly on the People's Liberation Army Air Force's operations over water.
Dec 6, 2017
Report
In Line or Out of Order? China's Approach to ADIZ in Theory and Practice
This report contrasts the considerations that drove China's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea with the conditions in the South China Sea and explores China's options for declaring an ADIZ there.
Nov 10, 2017
Report
The Chinese Air Force's First Steps Toward Becoming an Expeditionary Air Force
This is one of four reports based on RAND Project AIR FORCE Strategy and Doctrine Program research that assesses notable developments and implications of China's emerging aerospace expeditionary and power-projection capabilities.
Nov 10, 2017
News Release
U.S.-Russia-China Cooperation Could Hinder the Proliferation of Hypersonic Missiles, Reduce Risk of Strategic Wars
Despite their differences, Russia, China and the United States should act jointly to head off a little-recognized security threat—the proliferation of hypersonic missiles beyond the three nations. The spread of this new class of weapons would increase the chance of strategic (missile-based) wars and would jeopardize nations small and large—including the three nations that now have the technology.
Sep 27, 2017
Multimedia
Hypersonic Missile Nonproliferation
RAND researchers present an overview of their key findings on hypersonic missiles — a new class of threat that could penetrate most missile defenses and compress the timelines for a nation under attack to respond.
Sep 27, 2017
Report
Hypersonic Missile Nonproliferation
Hypersonic missiles are a new class of threat that could penetrate most missile defenses and compress the timelines for a nation under attack to respond. The United States, Russia, and China should agree not to export hypersonic missile systems or components to other nations.
Sep 27, 2017
Report
How to Counter Aggression When Shielded by A2/AD Capabilities
Land-based, multi-domain anti-access/area denial forces can play a role in helping the United States and its allies and partners deter or defeat aggression in the western Pacific, European littoral areas, and the Persian Gulf.
May 22, 2017
Report
Needs, Effectiveness, and Gap Assessment for Key A-10C Missions: An Overview of Findings
This report analyzes several missions assigned to the A-10C aircraft and the needs this mission set could generate over the next five years. It also assesses existing and planned forces' effectiveness and capability gaps in performing those missions.
Mar 2, 2017
Testimony
How to Restore the Power Projection Capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces
To help put the United States back on a path toward fielding forces that can defeat any adversary, the DoD needs money and insight. The latter can help inform decisionmaking. The former would let the DoD develop, acquire, and field new systems and postures.
Feb 16, 2017
Commentary
China's Air Force Is Fixing Its Shortcomings
The prevailing view among Western observers is that Chinese fighter pilots lack the tactical mindset to engage and prevail in a dynamic, unscripted combat environment. But the PLAAF appears to have undertaken major reform in how it trains its pilots.
Oct 14, 2016
Commentary
How Do Chinese Surface-to-Air Missile Forces Train?
Surface-to-air missile (SAM) forces play a crucial role in Chinese military planning. Recent training activity indicates that PLAAF SAM units' operational readiness and capabilities may vary depending on their location and the time of year.
Sep 6, 2016
Report
Training the People's Liberation Army Air Force Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Forces
This report analyzes key trends and themes in China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) surface-to-air missile (SAM) unit training.
Aug 30, 2016
Report
The Foundations of Operational Resilience — Assessing the Ability to Operate in an Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) Environment: The Analytical Framework, Lexicon, and Characteristics of the Operational Resilience Analysis Model (ORAM)
Describes a modeling framework and lexicon for conducting a detailed analysis of future Air Force operational resilience in an anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) environment.
Jul 7, 2016
Report
Innovation in the United States Air Force
An assessment of historical cases of Air Force innovation — or apparent failure to innovate — sheds light on whether the service is sufficiently innovative today and what can be done to make it more innovative for the future.
May 13, 2016
Report
Improvements to Air Force Strategic Basing Decisions
Examines the Air Force's basing decisionmaking process and assesses the quality of the underlying data.
Apr 15, 2016
Commentary
Taiwan Forced to Rethink Its Air Defense Strategy
Taiwan's defense problem is challenging, but it will spend a considerable sum on air defense capabilities in the coming years, and those investments could be made much more effective.
Apr 14, 2016
Report
Air Defense Options for Taiwan
Taiwan's proximity to China and advanced PLA capabilities force Taiwan to rethink its air defense strategy. Taiwan could downsize and shift its fighter aircraft force to focus on coercive scenarios, increase its investment in surface-to-air missiles, and dedicate its surface-based air defense to supporting other defensive operations.
Apr 5, 2016
Multimedia
United States and China: Trends in Military Competition
In this October 2015 congressional briefing, Eric Heginbotham discusses relative U.S. and Chinese military capabilities, including the evolution of Chinese military capabilities, steps the United States can take to limit the impact of a growing Chinese military on deterrence, and other U.S. strategic interests.
Oct 5, 2015
News Release
China's Military Modernization Increasingly Challenges U.S. Defense Capabilities in Asia
Although China continues to lag behind the United States in terms of aggregate military hardware and operational skills, it has improved its capabilities relative to those of the U.S. in many critical areas. Moreover, China does not need to catch up fully in order to challenge U.S. ability to conduct effective military operations near the Chinese mainland.
Sep 14, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Air Defense

Topic Synonyms:
AD;
Air Defence

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Karl P. Mueller

Senior Political Scientist

Karl P. Mueller is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He specializes in research related to military and national security strategy, particularly coercion, deterrence, and escalation.
Chaitra M. Hardison

Senior Behavioral Scientist

Chaitra M. Hardison (she/her) is a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the workplace and identifying how best to select, train, and educate personnel to…

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