The 2018 National Defense Strategy instructed the services to prioritize capabilities for conflict with another great power. This gave new urgency to ongoing initiatives within the Air Force to prepare for growing air and missile threats to bases and a contested communications environment. There is a wide range of possible counters to the particular problem of air base vulnerability, including greater reliance on long-range systems, active defenses, hardening of bases, and on-base dispersal of assets. This study focuses on a particular set of emerging concepts for distributed operations that call for using a larger number of air bases to complicate enemy targeting and using a more decentralized command and control (C2) approach. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) asked the RAND Corporation to consider whether the USAF needs to change its force presentation model (FPM), the way it organizes to use airpower as part of a joint operation, to implement these concepts. Since the Air Force has not developed a single detailed concept for distributed operations, this report synthesizes and extends the logic of emerging concepts. It then identifies an initial list of capabilities the Air Force may need in order to protect, command and control, and sustain fighter forces at a larger number of operating locations. Finally, the report assesses whether the current Air Force FPM for fighter forces provides these capabilities and identifies the trade-offs associated with force presentation changes.

Preface. -- Summary. -- 1. Introduction. Force presentation. Methodology. Report organization. -- 2. Demand for distributed operations. Motivation for distributed communications. Conclusion. -- 3. Protection. Capabilities for protecting against air and missile attack. Capabilities for protecting against ground threats to distributed bases. Potential DOTMLPF-P changes. Conclusion. -- 4. Command and control. Disruptions to command and control in a contested environment. Capabilities for command and control in a contested environment. Potential DOTMLPF-P changes. Conclusion. -- 5. Sustainment. Disruptions to sustainment in a contested environment. Capabilities for sustainment in a contested environment. Potential DOTMLPR-P solutions. Conclusion. -- 6. Distributed operations and force presentation. Current fighter force presentation model for employment. Implications of current and alternative Air Force approaches to force employment. Force presentation priorities and the operating environment. -- 7. Conclusion. Findings. Recommendations. Final thoughts. References.