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Challenges of Deploying Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles on Allied Lands
The United States has been hoping to develop and deploy ground-based intermediate-range missiles to the Indo-Pacific. But what is the likelihood of its treaty allies in the region—Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand—hosting these systems? Are there alternatives to permanent basing?
Apr 28, 2022
Commentary
U.S. Decision on ASAT Testing a Positive Step Towards Space Sustainability
The United States recently committed not to conduct destructive, direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing. This sets an important example others might follow and takes an important first step towards a binding, international ban.
Apr 21, 2022

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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
Weighing the Potential Value of Theater Ballistic Missiles in the Pacific
The U.S. Department of State concluded in 2014 that Russia is in violation of its obligations under the INF Treaty. If the treaty cannot be revived, the U.S. Army should assess the value of adding conventional land-based theater ballistic missiles to its portfolio of strike capabilities.
Jun 28, 2016
Report
Current and Future Risks of Inadvertent U.S.-Russian Nuclear War
Understanding how miscalculations and misperceptions can lead to the use of nuclear weapons is an important step toward reducing the probability of an inadvertent nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia.
Jun 9, 2016
Commentary
Beijing Ups the Ante in South China Sea Dispute with HQ-9 Deployment
China's recent deployment of HQ-9 missiles to the Paracel Islands signals its determination to consolidate its gains in the South China Sea, regardless of criticism by the United States and its allies.
Mar 29, 2016
Commentary
How China's New Russian Air Defense System Could Change Asia
The Russian S-400 TRIUMF surface to air missile entered the media spotlight when Moscow deployed the system after Turkey's shoot-down of a Russian plane near the Syria border on Thanksgiving Day. This episode demonstrated the S-400's potential as a weapon with strategic effects, a role that China may seek to exploit in future crises.
Jan 21, 2016
Report
Identifying Key Workplace Stressors Affecting Twentieth Air Force: Analyses Conducted from December 2012 Through February 2013
A series of focus groups with 20th Air Force personnel and their spouses helped assess such issues as job stress and satisfaction and problem behaviors and solicit suggestions for addressing them.
Dec 23, 2015
Research Brief
Chinese Attacks on U.S. Air Bases in Asia: An Assessment of Relative Capabilities
China has the most active ballistic-missile program in the world. It has made rapid and substantial relative improvements in its ability to disrupt or degrade U.S. air operations by attacking air bases.
Sep 14, 2015
Journal Article
The Iranian Missile Threat to Air Bases: A Distant Second to China's Conventional Deterrent
Iranian and Chinese ballistic missile doctrine contrasted. Implications for United States (US) force posture, force structure, and ability to project force globally.
Jul 31, 2015
Report
The Changing Nature of Air-Base Attacks
Since the end of the Cold War, American airpower has been able to operate largely free from attack. But emerging long-range strike capabilities are bringing this era of sanctuary to an end. This has significant implications for the American way of war.
Jun 12, 2015
Report
Defending Against Iranian Missile Threats Without Diluting the Russian Deterrent
In 2013, the U.S. opted to cancel Phase 4 of its European Phased Adaptive Approach missile defense system. Russia had cited it as a threat to its nuclear deterrent. The restructured U.S. system remains capable of reaching Iranian missiles without posing a threat to Russia's missile forces.
Feb 13, 2015
Commentary
Advice for Defense Innovators
Today's leaders should follow the example of their predecessors and closely evaluate a few well-defined scenarios, such as a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or a Russian invasion of a NATO member state to determine the most serious gaps in U.S. and allied capabilities.
Jan 12, 2015
Testimony
The Role of Maritime and Air Power in the DoD's Third Offset Strategy
Russia and China have been investing in military modernization programs to blunt the U.S. military's technological edge, fielding advanced aircraft, submarines, and both longer range and more accurate missiles. The DoD's Third Offset Strategy is a much-needed initiative to identify and invest in innovative ways to sustain and advance America's military dominance for the 21st century.
Dec 2, 2014
Report
Cruise Missile Penaid Nonproliferation: Hindering the Spread of Countermeasures Against Cruise Missile Defenses
An attacker's missile-borne countermeasures to cruise missile defenses are known as penetration aids, or penaids. This research recommends export controls on penaid-related items under the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Oct 20, 2014
Commentary
The Grim Lessons of “Protective Edge”
For all the attempts to find technological quick fixes or enforce a permanent settlement, Operation Protective Edge has highlighted that a war of attrition, known as a “long war,” remains the only viable strategy in the current environment.
Sep 3, 2014
Report
Penaid Nonproliferation: Hindering the Spread of Countermeasures Against Ballistic Missile Defenses
An attacker's missile-borne countermeasures to ballistic missile defenses are known as penetration aids, or penaids. This research recommends export controls on penaid-related items under the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Feb 26, 2014
Report
The Future of the U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force
Assesses alternatives for a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) across a broad set of potential characteristics and situations and weighs them against the costs of those alternatives.
Feb 4, 2014
Report
Employing Land-Based Anti-Ship Missiles in the Western Pacific
This report illustrates the potential strategic advantages for the United States of a land-based anti-ship missile capability that could be deployed to the Western Pacific in the event of a conflict with China.
Nov 1, 2013
Report
Crisis Stability and Long-Range Strike: A Comparative Analysis of Fighters, Bombers, and Missiles
In an international crisis, the United States must balance its threats with restraint while limiting its vulnerability. A RAND study sought to identify which long-range strike assets offer capabilities most conducive to stabilizing such crises.
Jun 19, 2013
Blog
Korea Tensions Different from Previous 'Normal Crises,' RAND Experts Tell Media
Three RAND Corporation researchers discussed the regional and global implications of the recent flurry of bluster and provocation emanating from North Korea, during a conference call April 9 with reporters.
Apr 9, 2013
Commentary
North Korean 'Satellite' May Fall from Sky, but That Won't Deter Kim Jong-Un
Kim Jong-Un's regime has placed outsized import on its missile launches—despite the risk of alienating the international community—to offset the lack of success across a wide range of topics, writes Bruce Bennett.
Dec 20, 2012

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Researcher Spotlight

George Nacouzi

Senior Engineer

George Nacouzi, a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation, supports projects within Project AIR FORCE and the National Security Research Division. He is also a member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. Some of his current research interests include assessing the performance of space…
Gregory S. Jones

Adjunct Defense Policy Analyst

Gregory S. Jones is an adjunct defense policy analyst at the RAND Corporation. His research has focused on the potential for terrorists and hostile countries to acquire and use nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, and the formulation of policies and actions to control and…

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