ALAN J. VICK, SEAN M. ZEIGLER, JULIA BRACKUP, …

COR PORAT ION

ALAN J. VICK, SEAN M. ZEIGLER, JULIA BRACKUP, JOHN SPEED MEYERS

Air Base Defense

Rethinking Army and Air Force Roles and Functions

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Preface

The growing cruise and ballistic missile threat to U.S. Air Force bases in Europe has led Headquarters U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE) to reassess defensive options, both near and far term. In support of this reassessment, Headquarters USAFE asked RAND to explore the feasibility of USAFE acquiring ground-based missile defenses of its own and to consider the problem from both operational and service roles and functions perspectives. This report focuses primarily on issues relating to roles and functions, including the history of air base ground defenses, authorities for roles and missions, and case studies of Army?Air Force disputes regarding air base defense. It then assesses seven U.S. Air Force alternative courses of action to address air base active defense shortfalls. A companion volume discusses the operational aspects in greater detail.

The research reported here was commissioned by then?Brig Gen Charles Corcoran, Director of Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters USAFE and Air Forces Africa, and conducted within the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE as part of a fiscal year 2019 project, "Ground-Based Air and Missile Defense of Air Bases."

RAND Project AIR FORCE

RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corporation, is the U.S. Air Force's federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses. PAF provides the Air Force with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future air, space, and cyber forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Strategy and Doctrine; Force Modernization and Employment; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; and Resource Management. The research reported here was prepared under contract FA7014-16-D-1000.

Additional information about PAF is available on our website: paf/ This report documents work originally shared with the U.S. Air Force on May 31, 2019. The draft report, issued on September 11, 2019, was reviewed by formal peer reviewers and U.S. Air Force subject-matter experts.

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Contents

Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii Figures ............................................................................................................................................vi Tables ........................................................................................................................................... vii Summary...................................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgments ...........................................................................................................................x Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................xi

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................1 Background ............................................................................................................................................... 1 The Policy Problem...................................................................................................................................1 Research Approach ................................................................................................................................... 3 Purpose of This Report..............................................................................................................................3 Organization .............................................................................................................................................. 4

2. Threats to Air Bases ....................................................................................................................5 Cruise Missiles .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Ballistic Missiles ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Hypersonic Weapons .............................................................................................................................. 12 Fixed-Wing Combat Aircraft, Civil Aircraft, and Larger Unmanned Aircraft Systems ........................ 15 Small Unmanned Aerial Systems............................................................................................................16 Rockets, Mortars, and Non?Line-of-Sight Missiles ............................................................................... 19 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................. 23

3. Air Base Defense Options .........................................................................................................26 Electronic Warfare .................................................................................................................................. 26 Defensive Counterair .............................................................................................................................. 32 Short-Range Air Defense Systems..........................................................................................................34 Passive Defenses ..................................................................................................................................... 44 Assessing the Versatility of Defensive Options Across Threats.............................................................51 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................... 52

4. Roles and Missions: Key West to the Vietnam War .................................................................54 Air Force?Army Debates over Air Base Defense: 1950s ....................................................................... 55 1960s and 1970s: Vietnam--Defending Bases During War...................................................................61 The Failed Memorandum of Agreement.................................................................................................68 Issue Unresolved ..................................................................................................................................... 69

5. Roles and Missions: Cold War Europe to Today ......................................................................71 1960s and 1970s: Europe ........................................................................................................................ 71 1980s: Period of Army?Air Force Cooperation and Frustration ............................................................ 76 1990s: Little Air Force or Army Interest in Air Base Air Defense.........................................................85

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From the Global War on Terror to the Present ....................................................................................... 90 Looking Toward the Future .................................................................................................................... 93 Key Insights ............................................................................................................................................ 95 6. Organizational Strategies to Improve U.S. Air Force Air Base Defense Capabilities ..............97 A Framework to Better Align Service Responsibilities for Air Base Defense ....................................... 97 Alternative Air Force Courses of Action .............................................................................................. 100 A Multipronged Strategy.......................................................................................................................107 7. Findings and Recommendations..............................................................................................109 Findings ................................................................................................................................................. 110 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 112 Final Thoughts ...................................................................................................................................... 113 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................115

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