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原文传递 Options for Strategic Airlift. CBO Memorandum

题名：	Options for Strategic Airlift. CBO Memorandum
作者：	Vines, Joann;Fraider, Victoria;
关键词：	REQUIREMENTSZREQUIREMENTSZ, AIRLIFT OPERATIONSZAIRLIFT OPERATIONSZ, MILITARY OPERATIONSZMILITARY OPERATIONSZ, USSRZUSSRZ, CONGRESSZCONGRESSZ, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEZDEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEZ, UNITED STATESZUNITED STATESZ, LOW COSTSZLOW C
摘要：	The need for strategic airlift, the planes that carry troops and equipment between continents, has lessened markedly in recent years. Current requirements for the first two weeks of a major regional conflict are 36 percent to 58 percent lower than those estimated during the Cold War for a confrontation with the Soviet Union. However, during the 1980s, the actual number of airlift aircraft was insufficient to handle the deliveries that the Department of Defense (DoD) estimated would be needed for a NATO/Warsaw Pact conflict. Current plans to maintain an airlift fleet with a theoretical capacity of 49 million to 52 million ton-miles per day come much closer to meeting delivery requirements that the Pentagon has set for itself. Yet critics might question why meeting DoDs airlift requirements is receiving relatively more emphasis today. The defense bill for fiscal year 1996 will complete funding for 40 C-17 aircraft. Some military analysts would prefer to buy 80 to 100 additional C-17s to replace the Air Force's aging C-141 Starlifters. But a combination of C-17s and the Lockheed Martin C-5D or the C-33, a military version of Boeing's 747-400 freighter, might provide sufficient capability at lower cost. The Congress might want to consider three criteria for evaluating airlift options: ability to meet delivery requirements for two major regional conflicts; ability to perform special missions, such as air-dropping a brigade after traveling between continents or repositioning outsize equipment within a theater by air; and cost. How to balance the tradeoffs between performance and cost depends on the likelihood that the United States will become involved in two major conflicts at the same time or in crises that will require U.S. forces to perform special missions.
总页数：	29
报告类型：	科技报告