Preserving Range and Airspace Access for the Air Force Mission: Striving for a Strategic Vantage Point

Abstract : The Director of Current Operations at Headquarters Air Force asked RAND Project AIR FORCE to recommend approaches for Air Force managers at all levels to obtain better information for managing and using ranges and airspace more effectively and efficiently. In response, we examined the evolving environment for ranges and special use airspace, including changing demands, resource constraints, and other factors; identified the management challenges growing from this evolving environment and the information and data required to address them; and drew implications for Air Force responses to these challenges and identified possible actions to address the challenges. To address these tasks, we gathered quantitative and qualitative information about how ranges are being used for testing and training. We also updated earlier RAND work on a decision support tool by expanding from its focus on training for Air Combat Command (ACC) to include information on training for Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), and Air Education and Training Command (AETC) units. In addition, we updated the ACC data sets in the RAND Decision Support Tool and produced a tactics-based objective data set for quantifying the training requirements that drive range and airspace use. In a parallel effort, we began a continuous dialog with the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) to help improve a web-based scheduling program that the 46th Test Wing is developing for the Eglin AFB range managers and local test units. The final phase of this study identified changes in demand for Air Force ranges and airspace, challenges that arise from such changes, and possible Air Force responses.