Title Expendable missiles vs. reusable platform costs and historical data / Thomas Hamilton

Published Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 2012

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Description 1 online resource (x, 15 pages) : illustrations Series RAND Corporation technical report series ; TR1230 Technical report (Rand Corporation) ; TR1230. Contents Expendable missiles versus reusable platform costs and historical data -- Appendix A: Model assumptions and methodology -- Appendix B: Data sources -- Appendix C: Additional cost excursions Summary This report evaluates the economic wisdom of relying primarily on expendable weapons, such as cruise missiles, to conduct air-to-ground strike missions. Focusing solely on cost, the author examined the U.S. historical use of air-to-ground attack during and since the Vietnam War, looking, among other things, at the length of each conflict and the weapons expended. Only if the United States is confident that all possible conflicts over the system lifetime can be ended in a total of less than about ten days is exclusive reliance on expendable assets prudent. Expendable weapons do have some important operational advantages, but if the United States wishes to maintain the capability to wage air war efficiently for more than a few days, reusable platforms are an important part of an efficient force mix Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (page 15) Notes The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force under Contract FA7014-06-C-0001 English Online resource; title from PDF title screen (viewed on October 7, 2012) Subject Air warfare -- Economic aspects -- United States Air-to-surface missiles -- Cost effectiveness Bombing, Aerial -- United States Precision guided munitions -- United States Bombardment. TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING -- Military Science. Bombardment Bombing, Aerial Precision guided munitions SUBJECT United States -- Armed Forces -- Weapons systems -- Cost effectiveness Subject United States Form Electronic book Author Project Air Force (U.S.) Rand Corporation. ISBN 9780833083227 0833083228

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