Analysis of Air-Based Mechanization and Vertical Envelopment Concepts and Technologies

Abstract : This document summarizes research conducted in 1998 by the RAND Arroyo Center on an exploration and assessment of the ability to insert mechanized forces in enemy-controlled terrain. RAND specifically investigated the use of tilt-rotor aircraft for vertical envelopment concepts, with particular emphasis on survivability implications and the potential enabling role that technology can play. The vertical envelopment concept used for this study was that of rapid deployment of an air-mechanized Army After Next (AAN) battle force into ambush positions against the second echelon of an invading Red force. The work involved the application of high-resolution, force-on-force simulation for the quantitative analysis. Although the research was conducted prior to the Army's current transformation efforts and used a conventional Russian-based threat, it can still provide useful insights into some of the challenges of tomorrow's nonlinear battlespace. The results of the research should be of interest to defense policymakers, concept and materiel developers, and technologists. We note that the air-mechanized (air-mech) battle force design and employment concept used in this study represented the work of the AAN study project in the FY96-98 timeframe and has no relationship to the current "Air-Mech" concepts proposed by BC (ret.) David Grange and others.* The "battle force" was a notional design construct used by AAN to analyze possible future organizational constructs without the constraints of current unit paradigms. The air-mech concept explored was the organic capability, within a battle force, to air maneuver both troops and medium-weight combat systems at both tactical and operational depths. TRADOC's Army Transformation Study, Wargaming, and Analysis effort has replaced the idea of organic operational airlift of systems with a more general-purpose capability for external lift assets (Army and/or joint) to enable operational maneuver by Objective Force units.