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"In 2015, the United States and partner governments in the F-35 program began considering the use of a three-year block buy (BB) contract for procurement of F-35 aircraft during fiscal years 2018-2020. A BB contract (which is similar to a multiyear procurement contract) can save money by providing prime contractors and their suppliers the incentive and ability to leverage quantity and schedule certainty and economies of scale, thus generating savings that would not be available under three annual single-lot contracts. This report presents an assessment of potential cost savings available through a BB contract for F-35 procurement. The research independently assessed savings for the aircraft's air vehicle and engine, consistent with the way contracting is handled in the program, and focused on recurring flyaway costs. For the air vehicle, the estimated savings is $1.8 billion, or 5.2 percent of the cost of contracting annually for three lots. For the engine, the estimated savings is $280 million, or 3.8 percent of the cost of contracting annually. Thus, the combined BB savings is approximately $2.1 billion, or 4.9 percent of the cost of annual contracting. These savings are estimated relative to an annual contracting baseline computed by RAND and are roughly comparable to those estimated for historical multiyear contracts for other fighter aircraft."--Publisher's description.

F-35 (Military aircraft) --- Economies of scale --- Purchasing --- United States. --- Procurement --- Cost control.

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"As U.S. military action in Afghanistan stabilizes at levels well below the Operation Enduring Freedom peak, the security relationship between the United States and Pakistan will enter a new phase. Formulating a strategy for future engagement requires a deep understanding of Pakistan's own security imperatives--i.e., the factors that determine what types of partnership are realistic, and the geopolitical and historical forces that shape Pakistan's cooperation with the United States. This report examines such factors from a variety of angles: It discusses the historical context of U.S.-Pakistan engagement, highlighting the two prior cycles of deep partnership and precipitous downgrade; it outlines Pakistan's strategic calculus with five nations (India, China, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran), which inform most important security decisions, and highlights Pakistan's overarching focus on potential conflict with India; and it looks at future trends for partnering, while examining several potential scenarios. A key finding presented is that U.S. leverage over Pakistan's security choices is limited, and that the U.S. Air Force effectively serves as the "loss leader" in the relationship. A key recommendation is for U.S. planners to be mindful of the cyclical pattern of the relationship. Given the growing security relationship between the United States and India, any future partnership with Pakistan may face a new set of challenges. If history is a guide, however, the United States would be well advised to maintain its engagement in the interim rather than ramping up next time from a standing start."--Publisher's description

Security, International --- United States --- Pakistan --- États-Unis --- Pakistan. --- South Asia. --- United States. --- Military relations --- Military relations. --- Relations militaires

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"The Air Force spends about $4 billion annually to buy and repair spare parts for aircraft. One way to reduce these costs is to improve the accuracy of demand forecasts: Demand that runs lower than forecast levels results in excess parts; demand that runs higher results in shortages and reduced readiness. One way to improve spare part demand forecasts is to reduce the flying hour variance -- the difference between the number of flying hours that are forecast and the number that are actually flown. RAND researchers were asked to gauge the potential effect of flying hour variance on cost and readiness and identify policy options to rectify problems identified. They determined that although flying hour program variance resulted in a substantial opportunity cost, its effect on enterprise-level financial cost and readiness was relatively small. The Air Force is taking steps to reduce variance in the flying hour program, and researchers endorsed that effort. However, they indicated that other factors had much greater influence and should be dealt with to make significant reductions in the overall variance."--Publisher's description

Airplanes, Military --- Spare parts --- Pièces de rechange --- Parts --- Management. --- Inventory control. --- Gestion. --- Gestion des stocks. --- United States. --- Equipment and supplies

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"The USAF asked the RAND Corporation to assess ways to increase gender-integrated training (GIT) in Basic Military Training (BMT). RAND reviewed historical literature and the experiences of other services and devised five options for increased GIT. Options include integrating training activities, integrating flights to different male-female proportions both before and after fall out from sleeping bays, and modifying sleeping bays for full integration. This report provides a comparative analysis of these options, including costs for each one, as well as a monitoring framework to monitor the progress of any GIT option that the USAF might choose."--Publisher's description.

Gender mainstreaming --- Basic training (Military education) --- Social integration --- United States. --- Women --- Training of.

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"To assist Air Force efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault, this report focuses on providing a better understanding of sexual assaults committed by airmen, including suspect characteristics and behaviors, the suspect's relationship to the victim, victim characteristics, the settings and circumstances of sexual assaults, and behavior and justifications following sexual assaults. To do so, the researchers analyzed investigation and court-martial records from closed cases of convicted and other alleged Air Force sexual assault offenders. The cases included offenders who took advantage of norms of group socializing with alcohol, trust in fellow airmen, and responsible drinking and driving to create situations that facilitate sexual assault. Some victims and suspects were confused about whether certain behaviors constitute sexual assault, such as first attempts to initiate sexual activities with dates or friends, unwanted acts that followed consensual sexual behavior, or actions of highly intoxicated individuals. Notably, although far less common, reported offenders who sexually assaulted their spouses had typically also harmed others, tended to have behavioral and emotional problems, and had previously caught the attention of Air Force authorities. After a sexual assault, offenders may apologize and attempt to persuade the victim or others to forgive them and not report them to authorities. This report concludes by describing how these sexual assault data complement other sources and by providing recommendations related to the themes identified in this analysis."--Publisher's description.

Sex crimes --- Rape in the military --- Sex offenders --- Research --- Psychology --- Research. --- United States. --- Airmen --- Crimes against.