Enhanced Army Airborne Forces: A New Joint Operational Capability

John Gordon IV ; Agnes Gereben Schaefer ; David A. Shlapak ; Caroline Baxter ; Scott Boston ; Michael McGee ; Todd Nichols ; Elizabeth Tencza

RAND Corporation

RAND Corporation

关键词: Military Airlift;    Military Force Planning;    Military Aircraft;    Wargaming;    United States Army;    Military Logistics;    Armored Vehicles;    Students;   

DOI  :  10.7249/RR309
ISBN  :  9780833082169
RP-ID  :  RR-309-A

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: RAND Corporation Published Research

【 摘 要 】

At the request of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, a RAND research team examined options to increase the mobility, protection, and firepower of the Army's airborne forces, given likely future missions and threats, identifying a concept for enhancing today's forces by adding a light armored infantry capability. Because the Army requested near-term options, the new concept incorporates equipment and platforms that are already available within the U.S. Department of Defense. The near-term focus also meant that the current Air Force airlift fleet was an important consideration, since Army airborne forces rely on Air Force transport aircraft to deploy. The research team examined notional future brigade- and battalion-sized airborne units, including the numbers and types of vehicles that would be needed to create an airborne light armored force that could be airdropped or air-landed from Air Force transport planes. The primary light armored vehicle possibilities studied were the Stryker (currently used by the Army) and the Light Armored Vehicle, second generation (LAV-II, used by the Marine Corps and the militaries of several other nations). Each family of vehicles would have advantages and disadvantages for the Army's airborne force, with the LAV-II provisionally identified as the preferred candidate. A tabletop exercise with subject-matter experts, using scenarios developed through a review of historical Army missions, identified how the addition of light armor could enhance the performance of airborne units.