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Monday, May 27, 2013

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Tactical Aircraft and the Preservation of U.S. Air Dominance

Rebecca Grant, Ph.D.

4/16/2013

Research Study

Introduction The case for focusing on air dominance has its roots in the most successful of U.S. military operations. One built around it was the invasion of Normandy. Air dominance was the basis of the whole plan as briefed to General George Marshall in early

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Features

U.S. Air Dominance: Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance

Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D.

2/27/2013

Research Study

Introduction The United States has enjoyed global air dominance for many decades. No U.S. soldier on the ground has been killed by hostile aircraft since the Korean War, and no U.S. pilot in

. . . Read more

Toward A 21st Century Defense Logistics Enterprise

Dr. Daniel Goure

2/7/2013

Research Study

Historically the focus of the defense acquisition and sustainment system has swung pendulum-like between two policy objectives. At one end of the arc, the goal is effectiveness: insuring that the military

. . . Read more

Modernizing the Air Force's Electronic Aircraft Fleet

Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D.

10/3/2012

Research Study

Findings In Brief The U.S. Air Force operates a fleet of six dozen intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft based on the old Boeing 707 airframe that are essential to the

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Defense Articles

12/14/2009	Defense Acquisition Reform Conference -12-1-09 . . . Read more
12/14/2009	Budget Moves Buoy Defense Industry Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It has been an unsettling year for defense contractors. While industry profitability continues to ride the crest of record post-cold-war military spending, the Obama Administration has sent numerous . . . Read more
12/8/2009	The Cyber Goldrush Begins Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief When Chinese agents penetrated the computers of the Obama campaign during the recent election season and stole many sensitive files, they pretty much guaranteed that the nation's next president would . . . Read more
11/30/2009	FOUR REASONS FOR CONFIDENCE IN THE F-35 Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief If you don't follow the defense business closely, then you can be excused for believing that the F-35 joint strike fighter is in trouble. The $300 billion program to develop a stealthy, multirole tactical . . . Read more
11/17/2009	Defense Acquisition Reform Conference - 12.1.09 The Lexington Institute is organizing a Capitol Hill panel on defense acquisition reform on December 1, 2009. Confirmed speakers to date are: • Mr. David Berteau, Senior Advisor, Center for . . . Read more
11/17/2009	Alternate Engine Problems Prove Critics Were Right Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief After ten months of testing, the alternate engine that General Electric and Rolls Royce are building for the F-35 joint strike fighter has managed to run for a grand total of 52 hours, during which time . . . Read more
11/11/2009	THANK OUR WWII HEROES WHILE WE CAN James A. Courter The Star-Ledger (NJ) Today marks the 90th anniversary of Veterans Day in America, and I would like to encourage all New Jersey residents to seek out and thank military veterans for their service to our country, especially . . . Read more
11/9/2009	Tanker Wars: Why Boeing Thinks Subsidies Matter Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Air Force's plan to conduct an expeditious re-competition of its future tanker program has run into trouble. An initial award was overturned when the Government Accountability Office found major . . . Read more
11/2/2009	Tanker Wars: Why Northrop Grumman Thinks It Can't Win Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Last week, one of the two teams competing to provide the Air Force's future aerial-refueling tanker launched an unusual campaign to overturn the service's strategy for buying the plane. Northrop Grumman . . . Read more
10/27/2009	The Army Needs To Ensure Continuity Of Operations At The Radford Ammo Plant Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Army is in the process of recompeting the contract for a private company to operate and maintain what is the foundation of its ammunition supply chain, the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) in . . . Read more
10/26/2009	Army WIN-T Must Keep Evolving To Meet Warfighter Needs Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief When the U.S. Army marched off to war earlier in this decade, it took with it communications gear that was woefully inadequate for the demands of irregular warfare. Battlefield communications systems . . . Read more
10/19/2009	The Age Of Robotic Combat Systems Has Not Arrived Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Ever since Czech playwright Karel Capek introduced the concept of mechanical men in his 1921 drama, Rossum's Universal Robots, prophets have been predicting the imminent arrival of machines that . . . Read more
10/13/2009	Osprey Belongs In The Combat Search And Rescue Mix Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Few military missions are more dangerous than combat search and rescue (CSAR). Warfighters and noncombatants stranded in remote locations must be found and retrieved, often while enemies are doing their . . . Read more
10/7/2009	Democrat Views Of Defense Industry Are Self-Defeating Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It is now 20 years since the Soviet Union began breaking up, removing the threat to American survival that spawned the modern defense industry. Industry fortunes have oscillated wildly in the post-communist . . . Read more
10/2/2009	Strategic Surprise and Tactical Warning: A Personal View Merrick “Mac” Carey Presentation to the Gyro Club Denver Athletic Club Thank you for inviting me here today and making such good arrangements for my visit. I am always happy to be in Denver, where I have lots of family and friends and have spent a great deal of time since . . . Read more
10/1/2009	Why Ten More C-17s Are Important To America Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief Debate is raging on Capitol Hill about whether to buy ten more C-17 military airlifters. It’s astonishing, given that the C-17 is perfect for “the wars we are in” as the Pentagon likes to say. Right . . . Read more
9/28/2009	Politics Will Decide The Outcome Of The Tanker Competition Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The first thing to understand about the Air Force plan to buy a new aerial-refueling tanker is that it is just a tanker. A flying gas station. Either of the planes being proposed for the mission . . . Read more
9/22/2009	The All-Volunteer Force Is Becoming Unaffordable Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently cited an estimate that the United States accounts for nearly half of all global military spending. What he didn't mention was that since the current decade . . . Read more
9/17/2009	Details Of Army Truck Award Reveal Numerous Errors Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief On August 28, the U.S. Army's Tank, Automotive & Armaments Command awarded a $4 billion contract to the Oshkosh Corporation to build 23,000 medium-size trucks. The award was an upset win for Oshkosh, . . . Read more
9/10/2009	New Global Hawk Undercuts Insurgent Advantages Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief If you are a paid Taliban operative or an Iraqi insurgent you may think you know how to slip through the mountains or skulk in the desert without U.S. forces noticing. Guess again. There’s a little . . . Read more
9/8/2009	Gates Signals F-35 Fighter Will Be Administration Priority Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Defense secretary Robert Gates has finally found a weapons system he likes. After canceling or cutting back over a dozen major programs in April -- and setting the stage for additional cuts in the fiscal . . . Read more
9/3/2009	Failure To Use Radar Planes Against Taliban Is Foolish Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are reporting worrisome advances in the battlefield performance of Taliban insurgents. Enemy discipline and morale seem to be improving, encouraged no doubt by the inability . . . Read more
8/18/2009	Are Policymakers Too Enchanted With Unmanned Aircraft? Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Pentagon's quadrennial review of strategy and requirements is returning the joint force to a threat-based military posture. After eight years of toying with the idea of a "capabilities-based" posture, . . . Read more
8/18/2009	Reversing Industrial Decline: A Role for the Defense Budget Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Research Study After dominating global industrial activity for a century, the United States is losing its edge in manufacturing to other nations. Over the last 30 years, manufacturing has fallen from a quarter to an . . . Read more
8/13/2009	Lexington Launches A Different Kind Of Defense Blog Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Greetings from New England. Yes, I too am at the beach. But I'm still working, and the purpose of this brief is to tell you about a new project that the Lexington Institute has launched while you were . . . Read more
8/4/2009	STOPPING C-17 NOW WOULD HOBBLE FUTURE WARFIGHTERS Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The U.S. Air Force is the only military organization in the world that operates a diverse fleet of airlifters capable of transporting large forces over long distances on short notice. The airlift fleet . . . Read more
7/29/2009	Air Force Delay On Radar Plane Fix Hurts Soldiers Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Every day, one of the Air Force's 17 Joint Stars radar planes takes off from a base in Southwest Asia to conduct secret intelligence-gathering missions. A multimode radar installed on the plane's belly . . . Read more
7/21/2009	There's No Reason To Cut Funds For C-130 Modernization Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. \| Issue Brief Issue Brief The most successful aircraft in the history of military aviation isn't a fighter or a bomber, it's the C-130 Hercules airlifter. Conceived in the early 1950s as a short-hop cargo plane and people mover . . . Read more
7/17/2009	Are Jets A Better Fit For The Afghan Environment? Daniel Goure, Ph.D. \| Issue Brief Issue Brief As U.S. forces begin the planned surge into Afghanistan we are again reminded that in many ways this is a tougher fight than the military experienced in Iraq. The geography of Afghanistan is daunting, . . . Read more
7/15/2009	Some Nuclear Cuts Are Feasible, But Big Ones Are Dangerous Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief On July 6, President Obama and his Russian counterpart agreed in principle to a new strategic arms treaty that would reduce the number of operational nuclear weapons in each nation's arsenal. News of . . . Read more
7/7/2009	Global Warming And The Politics Of Mania Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief America's political culture is a marketplace of ideas, and like other markets it sometimes is seized by big ideas that disrupt normal operations. These ideas typically assume the character of manias, . . . Read more
7/1/2009	July 4, 2009: A Celebration Tinged With Sadness Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief July 4th is the one day, more than any other, when we Americans celebrate what we have achieved as a nation. We have another holiday in November for giving thanks, but that day is mostly about family . . . Read more
6/25/2009	Delay Of Army Warfighter Network Would Be Dangerous Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Nothing matters more in modern land warfare than quick and reliable communications. Battle conditions are so fluid and forces are so scattered that continuous connectivity is crucial in coordinating . . . Read more
6/19/2009	Congress Should Move Forward On A New Bomber Rebecca Grant Ph.D. Issue Brief Picture this: a nuclear weapon in terrorist hands loose in the remote regions of Pakistan. How about a mobile missile deep in Iran with a nuclear warhead standing by? Or a space launch complex in some . . . Read more
6/17/2009	America At Risk: Assessing Global Challenges, 2009 And Beyond Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Presentation at The Heritage Foundation There are so many topics one could discuss under the rubric of America at risk, global challenges today and in the future that it is hard to know where to begin. I could speak about the difficult financial . . . Read more
6/16/2009	Missile Defense Shift Puts Spotlight on Raytheon Solution Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Obama Administration has directed the Missile Defense Agency to place greater emphasis on early interception of ballistic missiles that might be launched by countries like Iran or North Korea against . . . Read more
6/9/2009	Japan & F-22: Why Not Reward A Reliable Ally? Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief If there's one concept that the Obama Administration's national-security team really likes, it's partnering. Obama stressed global partnering when he was running for President, the security agenda posted . . . Read more
6/8/2009	Homeland Security Should Deploy Bio-Sensors Now Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief The recent outbreaks of swine flu arrived on our shores without warning. Fortunately, this biohazard proved less threatening than first thought. But what would have happened if this had been an extremely . . . Read more
6/2/2009	Killing The President's New Helicopter Wastes $8 Billion Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Four months into his first (and possibly only) term, President Barack Obama is beginning to grasp the severity of the government's fiscal crisis. Washington is spending $5 billion per day it does not . . . Read more
5/27/2009	Obama Is Right: The F-35 Doesn't Need Another Engine Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief President Obama startled the aerospace industry earlier this month when he attacked a congressionally-mandated program to build an "alternate" engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It isn't common . . . Read more
5/22/2009	E-2D and Maritime Security Rebecca Grant, Ph.D. Research Study The greatest threats to Navy ships in the years ahead come from missile proliferation and submarines, but the best defense starts in the sky with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. “State actors and non-state . . . Read more
5/22/2009	Will The Pentagon Remember To Defend American Skies? Rebecca Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief When the Pentagon “rebalanced” military aircraft programs on April 6, they forgot about buying new fighters to protect the United States. Remember the scare last month when the back-up Air Force One made . . . Read more
5/19/2009	Saudi Fleet Modernization Bolsters Global Partnering Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The National Defense Strategy cites strengthening of allies and regional partners as a key means of meeting U.S. security objectives. Working with allies is also one of five strategic principles underpinning . . . Read more
5/14/2009	Secretary Gates Is Dead Wrong on KEI Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is rapidly acquiring the reputation as the most forceful Pentagon leader since Robert McNamara occupied an E-ring office more than forty years ago. Almost single-handedly . . . Read more
5/13/2009	Pentagon Needs Clear Plan For Electronic Warfare Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It isn't easy to be nostalgic about the Cold War, but back then military planners had at least one advantage that they no longer enjoy today: everybody agreed on what the big threats were. They originated . . . Read more
5/10/2009	U.S. Naval Options for Influencing Iran Dr. Daniel Goure and Dr. Rebecca Grant Research Study Engaging Iran is both a difficult and complex endeavor. The United States will need to use all the tools at its disposal. One of the advantages the United States possesses in dealing with Iran is its . . . Read more
5/7/2009	Quadrennial Review Skirts Biggest Management Challenge Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Congress has mandated that the defense department must conduct a comprehensive review of military strategy and capabilities at the beginning of each new presidential administration. The latest such "quadrennial . . . Read more
5/5/2009	Defense Market Drivers & Trends Through 2012 Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Presentation to Jane's U.S. Defense Conference I am very pleased to be here today, sharing the stage with experts whose professional accomplishments in the defense arena greatly exceed my own. I have been asked to spend 15 minutes discussing future . . . Read more
5/1/2009	F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Remains Good Value For America And Allies Rebecca Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief When Defense Secretary Robert Gates “rebalanced” the Pentagon budget recently he put the future of fighter aviation in America on the shoulders of the F-35. The US Navy will probably buy more F/A-18s . . . Read more
4/28/2009	The Business Case For Buying Tankers From Both Teams Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Without aerial refueling, the global reach of U.S. air power would be severely limited. However, nearly 90% of the tankers in the current refueling fleet -- 453 planes -- are Eisenhower-era KC-135s that . . . Read more
4/24/2009	Performance-Based Logistics: A Primer for the New Administration Research Study Research Study President Obama faces a crisis in security as daunting as that in the economy. Simply stated, the costs of operations and support – in essence, the day-to-day costs of running the U.S. Department of Defense . . . Read more
4/21/2009	Gates Goals Undercut Air Force Capabilities and Leaders Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Air Force chief of staff Norton Schwartz faced biting criticism from his service's senior leaders in a video teleconference last week. They accused him of betraying the service's requirements process . . . Read more
4/15/2009	Radford Army Ammunition Plant: The Heart of the U.S. Ammunition Supply Chain Research Study Nothing is more important to the effectiveness, security and survival of men and women in combat than their supply of ammunition. This truth was brought home to the U.S. military in Operations Iraqi Freedom . . . Read more
4/14/2009	Analytic Flaws in the Emerging Gates Defense Posture Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Defense secretary Robert Gates says that the program changes he proposed last week reflected the need to "rebalance" the nation's military posture in light of recent operational experience. That is only . . . Read more
4/10/2009	Back To The Future With Secretary Gates Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief On Monday, April 6, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced his long-awaited plans to reshape the U.S. military. He had foreshadowed many of his specific plans in an article in Foreign Affairs in . . . Read more
4/9/2009	Air Force Prepared To End F-22 At 243 Aircraft, Not 187 Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief When Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated on April 6 that the Air Force advised him they wanted 187 F-22s, the reaction was shock. That’s because evidence indicates the Air Force was ready and willing . . . Read more
4/6/2009	Tanker Process Totally Lacking in Transparency Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Ever since Senator John McCain threw a monkey wrench into efforts to lease new aerial-refueling tankers five years ago, the Air Force has been struggling to implement an alternate strategy. It has spent . . . Read more
4/3/2009	U.S. Security Strategy and Boost Phase Missile Defense Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Presentation The United States needs a new strategy for missile defenses, one that reflects the changing international environment and military requirements. Our original construct for the development and deployment . . . Read more
4/1/2009	Progress On Marine Vehicle Barely Noticed By Media Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle has been getting some rough treatment in the media lately. Reporters and pundits say it is over budget, behind schedule and plagued by design defects. Now for the good . . . Read more
3/26/2009	The Navy Will Have Less Money in the Future, Not More Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Testimony to the Seapower & Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I would like to briefly review the military and economic challenges our nation faces, and then draw some conclusions about the outlook for naval ship . . . Read more
3/26/2009	The Hidden Costs of Maintaining a Post-Industrial U.S. Military Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Presentation to the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs In order to halt the current economic slide, restart the financial and housing markets, and implement a wave of new programs, the Obama Administration has proposed massive new spending programs across . . . Read more
3/17/2009	The Military Needs Many More C-17 Airlifters Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It has begun to dawn on many observers that President Obama doesn't care much about defense. He honors the nation's warfighters and supports their programs, but his heart lies elsewhere -- mainly in . . . Read more
3/10/2009	Navy Will Offer Up Carrier & Air Wing In Quadrennial Review Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The word within the Pentagon is that the White House wants to collect 6-8 "scalps" -- major program kills -- in this year's Quadrennial Defense Review. Some of the cuts are already being considered as . . . Read more
3/6/2009	Performance-Based Logistics Limits Government Waste Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief In his February 24 speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama promised to protect the future health of the American economy by halving the projected deficit in his first term. One way of accomplishing . . . Read more
3/4/2009	How To Cut The Cost Of The President's New Helicopter Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief There's a simple way of eliminating all of the recently reported cost increase in the presidential helicopter replacement program: kill the more advanced version of the new copter and stick with the initial . . . Read more
2/26/2009	Cutting E-2D Navy Radar Plane Could Put Ships At Risk Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief “Do you think those US Navy warships are out there on vacation?” one Saudi leader was said to have asked Iranian ruler Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a recent crisis. Aircraft carriers and surface ships do . . . Read more
2/24/2009	Buying Two Engines for the F-35 Wastes Billions of Dollars Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Obama Administration has begun "rebalancing" the nation's defense posture to focus on emerging threats and free up money for domestic initiatives. As was the case under Carter and Clinton, the budget . . . Read more
2/17/2009	President Obama Will Decide The Fate of F-22 This Month Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Sometime in the next dozen days, President Obama will make his first big decision about America's future military capabilities. The fiscal 2009 defense authorization act requires the President to tell . . . Read more
2/10/2009	Rumored Weapons Cuts Would Hit Local Economies Hard Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Last week, two of the best-sourced reporters on the defense beat wrote stories indicating that the Pentagon may be getting an early start on cutting weapons programs. On February 5, Jason Sherman of InsideDefense.com . . . Read more
2/10/2009	Finish The Job Of Modernizing the Radford Army Ammunition Plant Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief One of the most important lessons to emerge from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is the importance of a reliable and modern ammunition industrial base. After the end of the Cold War, the U.S. Department . . . Read more
2/6/2009	Global Deterrence: The Role of the F-22 Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Research Study According to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, “It’s way past time to re-examine our strategic thinking about deterrence. ”Conventional deterrence is all about how to posture . . . Read more
2/3/2009	Defense Companies Have Many Options In A Downturn Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief When you only have one customer and that customer suddenly finds itself spending a trillion dollars more per year than it is taking in, prudence dictates you should start developing alternatives to your . . . Read more
1/27/2009	Listen to the Navy: The DDG-1000 Destroyer Is Not Needed Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The U.S. Navy has a favorite mantra that concisely captures why maritime strategy matters: 70% of the world is covered by water, 80% of its people live close to the sea, and 90% of its trade travels by . . . Read more
1/23/2009	Navy Needs To Stick With Its Unmanned Combat Aircraft Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief A few weeks ago in the California desert the Navy took the wraps off a weapon that could revolutionize war at sea. It’s the X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS), a stealthy, unmanned plane as big . . . Read more
1/16/2009	The Defense Industry Outlook Through 2012 Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Remarks at Raytheon Headquarters I've been asked to spend thirty minutes this morning assessing the outlook for the defense industry over the next several years -- the "Obama years," as they will probably come to known. Thirty minutes . . . Read more
1/14/2009	Does The Defense Industry Need To Be Restructured? Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Last summer the Defense Science Board issued a study entitled Creating an Effective National Security Industrial Base for the 21st Century. It warned that a crisis is coming because America's military . . . Read more
1/12/2009	Missile Defense: The Boost-Phase Advantage Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Research Study Ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads and other mechanisms of mass destruction are the most potent weapons that America’s defenders face. The number of ballistic missiles in global arsenals . . . Read more
1/6/2009	F-22 Deters Better Than Nuclear Weapons In Many Cases Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Lockheed Martin chief executive Robert J. Stevens made waves in the media recently by suggesting his company's F-22 fighter might serve as a substitute for nuclear weapons in deterring aggression. Stevens . . . Read more

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