Supporting Expeditionary Aerospace Forces: Expanded Analysis of LANTIRN Options

As part of a larger study of support for Expeditionary Aerospace Forces, this analysis addresses logistics structure alternatives for meeting demands for Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) across a spectrum of operational requirements. The LANTIRN system consists of two pods (navigation and targeting) employed by F-16s and F-15Es. The study also amends earlier RAND research with new data collected during the air war over Serbia. The authors compare the current decentralized policy, in which intermediate maintenance capabilities are deployed with flying units, with consolidated options in which maintenance capabilities do not deploy. The authors show that consolidating the LANTIRN intermediate maintenance support system may enhance operational flexibility, improve support responsiveness, and decrease the requirements for highly skilled personnel. However, a regional support structure would be more sensitive to transportation delays and require greater cross-organizational communication. The authors also find that new data suggest that the USAF may not have enough support equipment to meet the requirements of two coincident major theater wars. The decision to centralize or decentralize LANTIRN repair operations hinges not on the expected system costs but on the capability and risk levels the Air Force is willing to accommodate.

ROBERT S. TRIPP (Ph.D. in Business Administration, The University of Minnesota, August 1972) is a Senior Research Analyst at RAND.