Research for Military Capability

In response to a request from the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT), for options regarding hemisphere naval cooperation, CNA conducted a study of the mid- and long-range importance of Latin America for U.S. Navy and CINCLANTFLT strategic planning. The study considered the full range of navy-to-navy relations and projected developments in light of the changing international security environment, new roles and missions, and the roles that Latin Americans can play within U.S. Navy plans. We developed a framework for evaluating the U.S. Navy's cooperative programs with Latin America in terms of their scope and impact on a continuum of U.S. national security objectives that range from goodwill through broad foreign policy objectives, to national defense goals, and specific military goals. We examined the evolving Latin American national security environment, developed a typology of naval roles and missions, and projected force structure to the year 2000. Finally, we cataloged the U.S. Navy's programs, evaluated their scope and impact, and assessed their contribution to national security goals.

What are the cost and capability tradeoffs between land-based and sea-based tactical aviation? This recurring question reared its head again in 1994, when the Air Force presented certain cost data to the Commission on Roles and Missions (CORM). That data included cost estimates for F-15 and F-16 tactical fighter wings (TFWs), with each wing consisting of 72 aircraft. The Air Force also estimated costs for what it characterized as a 60-aircraft Navy carrier air wing (CVW), and the CVW's associated aircraft carrier (CV). Examination of the results has brought to light the fact that the model used to generate TFW costs and the one that produced the CVW/CV costs are quite dissimilar conceptually--the differences due largely to the treatment of indirect costs. As a potential contribution to the debate, we developed cost estimates that are directly comparable conceptually. This is a summary report. See 27 950019.00 for the complete study.

The new and enhanced capabilities of the Marine Corps and the development of its amphibious strategy were the subject of the Third Annual Sea Power Forum sponsored by the Center for Naval Analyses. Four panels of speakers evaluated four broad topics: the Navy-Marine Corps team today, the uses of Marine Corps in major and minor conflicts, and the Marine Corps of tomorrow.

The evolution of the mission and capabilities of Soviet aviation assigned to maritime roles from the days of the Tsarist Navy to the present is reviewed. The author addresses the mission priorities revealed in the Soviet literature, the hardward developed in response to those priorities, and the trends that can be identified from the literature and these developments.