Michael Boito

RAND Corporation researchers developed an analytic capability for determining the efficient amount of U. S. Air Force special and incentive pays for a rated officer pilot career field given the cost of producing an additional trained and adequately experienced rated officer, as well as the retention behavior of rated officers, to sustain the size of the pilot force.

This report assesses the feasibility and extent to which the Department of Defense might decrease the operating and support costs of its military commercial-derivative engines without a loss of safety or reliability through greater use of Federal Aviation Administration-approved parts and repairs provided by companies other than the original equipment manufacturer.

When a weapon system ceases production, the tooling not needed for sustainment that cannot be repurposed must either be disposed of or stored. Storage is not free, but system-specific tooling might become necessary for a restart, and starting from scratch can be expensive, although some tools cost more to store than they are worth. The authors examine these tooling retention issues for the C-17 cargo aircraft.

The U. S. Air Force asked RAND Project AIR FORCE to perform a congressionally required assessment of contractor versus organic management of F-22 air vehicle and F119 engine sustainment to determine the most cost-effective approach. The methodology involved the development of notional government sustainment organizations and a consideration of a variety of factors relevant to such a decision, including the asserted benefits of each approach.

As Navy aircraft age, leaders must decide whether to modify and upgrade the aging systems or replace them. Preliminary planning has begun as to the feasibility and desirability of a service life extension program (SLEP) on the F/A-18E/F versus buying replacement Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs). This report presents ranges of parameter values that favor versus oppose undertaking E/F SLEPs.

Contractor logistics support (CLS) is increasingly the Air Force choice for system sustainment, but is it the best option? The issues have included inadequate supporting data and the tendency for CLS contracts to go, by default, to original equipment manufacturers. The authors recommend resolving the data issues through centralization and standardization and keeping all support options open by obtaining technical data rights as early as possible.

Late in 1996, the Air Force enlisted RAND's help to respond to inquiries from Congress about the effects of a specific Air Force proposal to consolidate and divest a portion of Eglin Air Force Base's test and evaluation capabilities. The analysis found areas of financial merit in the proposal but also elements that may not be cost effective. The authors highlight areas of risk for Air Force consideration prior to implementation.

Presents a methodology for helping the Swedish Ministry of Defence assess the costs and benefits of architectures for network-based operations as the Swedish Defence Forces are reoriented to a wider suite of operations than homeland defence, including operations far from Sweden. 450-character abstract: Presents a methodology to help the Swedish Ministry of Defence assess costs and benefits of architectures for network-based operations as the Swedish Defence Forces are reoriented to a wider suite of missions than homeland defence, including operations far from Sweden. Offers criteria for certain network measures and metrics for those measures, and relates those metrics broadly to interaction categories that support identification of common subnetworks and analogous systems/components in the cost-estimation process.