Tactical Dispersal of Fighter Aircraft: Risk, Uncertainty, and Policy Recommendations.

Abstract

This Note examines U.S. Air Force policy on the basing of tactical fighter aircraft. Specifically, it addresses the risks of losses to both aircraft and sorties that are implicitly accepted by commanders and policymakers when they base fighters within range of potential attackers. It also deals with one potential alternative to the current static basing mode--tactical dispersal--and with the organizational impediments to it. The author applies the concepts of risk and uncertainty to plausible attack scenarios for main operating bases and dispersed sites, and he discusses policy issues that must be addressed if high sortie rates are to be sustained during the early days of a conflict. He recommends that a program be designed to empirically test the assumptions used in the models for evaluating basing policy. Keywords: Air Force facilities, Tactical analyses, Fighter aircraft, Risk, Probability. (sdw)

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA200492

Entities

People

  • John M. Halliday

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Attrition
  • Civil Engineering
  • Command And Control
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Geography
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Organizational Structure
  • Second World War
  • Short Takeoff Aircraft
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Strategic Security Studies