Michael J Lostumbo

The U. S. Air Force has a goal of reducing the life cycle operating and support (O&S) costs of the F-35A. Maintenance manpower is a significant driver of O&S costs, and consolidation and reorganization of career fields could reduce manpower and training costs. The authors of this report evaluate the costs and benefits of six F-35A maintenance manpower force structures in the U. S. Air Force that merge maintenance career fields in different ways.

In order to defend itself and its national interests, and to maintain the trust of allies as a reliable security guarantor, the United States must match its national security policies with the resources available to support them. This report discusses the specific gaps between the stated strategic and defense policies of the United States and the resources and capabilities that would be required to implement those policies successfully.

Land-based, multi-domain anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) forces can play a role in deterring or defeating aggression. This report highlights growing Chinese and Russian A2/AD capabilities and potential scenarios for conflict in the Asia-Pacific region (centered on China) and the Baltic Sea (centered on Russia). Ground-based capabilities offer an affordable way for U. S. allies and partners to deter or defeat aggression.

To address the command and control challenges of a future conflict with Russia or China, in which command elements and communications networks could be attacked, the United States Air Force needs to consider how to reorganize its forces so that they can operate in degraded environments. In this report, the authors examine how options for the design of wing-level command and control elements for Air Mobility Command forces can meet such new demands.

he authors of this report consider the exposure of Department of the Air Force (DAF) installations to flooding, high winds, and wildfires?hazards that have affected DAF installations in the recent past. The authors characterize exposure using three different types of data: base boundaries, geospatial data on airfield and select electric power infrastructure that supports DAF installations, and publicly available data on natural hazards.

Develops approaches for assessing asymmetric attacks using cruise missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles, a novel potential threat to homeland targets, in the context of other options available to terrorist actors and for identifying the factors that might make these technologies attractive to adversaries. These approaches provide the basis for exploring defensive options.