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Warfare and Military Operations

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RAND researchers examine military and national security issues across a broad spectrum — from political dissent and military training to tactical operations and reconstruction efforts — and take a long-term, global perspective. Terrorism, types of warfare, and international intervention are among the many topics RAND explores.

Report

European Contributions to NATO's Future Combat Airpower

Oct 22, 2020

European air forces currently have limited capabilities for defending allies in high-intensity conflict. However, Europe's airpower is trending in the right direction, especially with the introduction of fifth-generation aircraft.
Research Brief

What Will the Future of Warfare Look Like?

May 11, 2020

Poor predictions about wars stem from failing to think holistically about the factors that drive changes in the global environment and their implications for warfare. Geopolitical, economic, military, space, nuclear, cyber, and other trends will shape the contours of conflict through 2030.

Explore Warfare and Military Operations

Commentary

How Joe Biden Can Galvanize Space Diplomacy

The potential for conflicts to originate in outer space, or for terrestrial conflicts to extend there, has grown with the development of counterspace weapons and the explosion of commercial space activity. But previous efforts to establish norms have had limited results. The Biden administration has an opportunity, working with like-minded allies and partners, to galvanize nascent international efforts.

Jan 15, 2021
Commentary

Why Overseas Military Bases Continue to Make Sense for the United States

Voices on the left and right have proposed downsizing America's overseas military footprint. While the merits of basing in a particular location should be open to debate, the underlying twin logics of deterrence and reassurance behind permanently stationing American forces overseas remain operationally, economically, and strategically as sound as ever.

Jan 14, 2021
Commentary

The Battle of Capitol Hill

The deadly mob assault on the U.S. Capitol Building was a predictable possibility. Democracy held, but security failed, spectacularly. We need to be better prepared for future acts of political violence.

Jan 11, 2021
Report

Findings on Mosaic Warfare from a Colonel Blotto Game

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is investigating a concept of war known as Mosaic warfare, after the analogy of creating a complex image from many small pieces. The authors study Mosaic warfare through the use of a Colonel Blotto game.

Jan 5, 2021
Report

Distributed Kill Chains: Drawing Insights for Mosaic Warfare from the Immune System and from the Navy

In Mosaic warfare, individual warfighting platforms are assembled like ceramic tiles to make a larger "mosaic," or force package. The authors apply lessons from the human immune system and a U.S. Navy project to mosaic warfare.

Jan 5, 2021
Report

Modeling Rapidly Composable, Heterogeneous, and Fractionated Forces: Findings on Mosaic Warfare from an Agent-Based Model

Mosaic warfare is named for the idea of creating a complex image from small pieces. This report studies Mosaic warfare and explores complexity of platforms, complexity of targets, and relative density of platforms and targets.

Jan 5, 2021
Report

An Experiment in Tactical Wargaming with Platforms Enabled by Artificial Intelligence

RAND researchers explored the capabilities and limitations of future artificial intelligence and machine learning weapon systems in two wargame experiments that brought together operators and engineers.

Dec 29, 2020
Commentary

Arms Control Held Hostage

President-elect Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have wisely promised to extend the 2010 New START Treaty, which cuts long-range nuclear arms. The two leaders may also pursue a broader follow-on accord, but frigid U.S.-Russian relations could put this out of reach. Progress on arms control often comes when political winds are warmer.

Dec 28, 2020
Report

Mitigating the Effects of Blast-Related Burn Injuries from Prolonged Field Care to Rehabilitation and Resilience: Proceedings and Expert Findings from a U.S. Department of Defense International State-of-the-Science Meeting

Blast-related burns, which accounted for most burns suffered by service members in the recent conflict in Afghanistan, are difficult to treat. These conference proceedings describe a meeting held at RAND to identify gaps in blast-injury research.

Dec 23, 2020
Journal Article

Russia's Cyber Limitations in Personnel Recruitment and Innovation, Their Potential Impact on Future Operations and How NATO and Its Members Can Respond

This chapter addresses questions arising from the gap that separates Russian cyber personnel and capabilities from its ambitions and what effect this disparity has on future state-backed cyber campaigns.

Dec 23, 2020
Blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2020

Here are the RAND research projects that resonated most in 2020, a year unlike any in living memory. Topics include remote learning, election disinformation, income inequality, and more.

Dec 21, 2020
Report

Command and Control in U.S. Naval Competition with China

The navies of the United States and China will likely face challenges as they shift to new missions unless they adapt their existing concepts of command and control. Their willingness to adapt could prove to be decisive in maritime rivalry, and perhaps in the overall balance of strategic competition between the two nations.

Dec 17, 2020
Multimedia

Defence Challenges and Opportunities for Norway

Ruth Harris, research director for the Defence, Security, and Infrastructure group at RAND Europe, is joined by senior political scientist Stephen Flanagan and international defence researcher Gene Germanovich in a discussion about their study on enhancing deterrence and defence on NATO's northern flank.

Dec 14, 2020
Report

Japan's Ability and Willingness to Assist U.S. Forces in the East China Sea

Should a conventional high-end contingency erupt in the East China Sea between the United States and China, Japan could support the U.S. military. But that assistance would be limited, in terms of capabilities, existing legal restrictions, and political realities.

Dec 14, 2020
Report

Intelligence Support for Operations in the Information Environment: Dividing Roles and Responsibilities Between Intelligence and Information Professionals

Operations in the information environment require close coordination between intelligence and information operations personnel, but this does not often occur in practice. A review of these challenges highlighted a range of potential solutions.

Dec 9, 2020
Research Brief

Improving Intelligence Support for Operations in the Information Environment

Challenges to effective intelligence support for operations in the information environment (OIE) can be addressed by improving processes, prioritizing support for OIE, training and educating personnel, and optimally allocating personnel.

Dec 9, 2020
Report

RAND Space Launch Virtual Panel

A virtual panel discussion hosted by the RAND Space Enterprise Initiative tackles issues related to the global space launch enterprise.

Dec 8, 2020
Report

Multiple Dilemmas: Challenges and Options for All-Domain Command and Control

The authors examine potential command-and-control impediments to multidomain operations and propose alternative models for joint all-domain command and control.

Dec 3, 2020
Research Brief

Multiple Dilemmas for the Joint Force: Joint All-Domain Command and Control

The authors examine potential command and control impediments to multidomain operations and propose alternative models for joint all-domain command and control.

Dec 3, 2020
Report

Human Aspects of Air Force Operations

The special operations community has focused on leveraging human-focused capabilities, but the conventional Air Force has yet to fully embrace human aspects of military operations. Is there a need for a joint warfighting domain focused on human aspects of military operations?

Nov 30, 2020

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Warfare and Military Operations

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