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Defense Infrastructure

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The buildings and permanent installations necessary for the support, deployment, and operation of a nation's military constitute its defense infrastructure. RAND research has examined the structure and needs of U.S. and allied military facilities, provided recommendations concerning base realignment, and investigated ways to maximize the capabilities and utilization of existing resources and to define future infrastructure needs.

Commentary
Military and Defense-Related Supply Chains
After the Cold War, U.S. logistics planners moved away from a focus on effectiveness to a focus on efficiency in the sense that little is left idle for significant periods and that commodities are delivered at minimum cost. The ability of the system to support the joint force in the event of major conflict is at best untested and could be problematic.
Jun 22, 2021
Report
How Can the Department of the Air Force Prepare for Natural Hazards?
Some Air Force facilities are exposed to flooding, high winds, wildfires, or even multiple hazards. Future costs of damages are uncertain, and climate change could affect the frequency and scale of these hazards. The process for making investment decisions regarding resilience should be flexible.
Aug 9, 2021

Explore Defense Infrastructure

Report
How Can DoD Compare Damage Costs Against Resilience Investment Costs for Climate-Driven Natural Hazards? Overview of an Analytic Approach, Its Advantages, and Its Limitations
This report assesses methods to compare the damage costs from climate change-related extreme weather events against the costs of investing in U.S. Department of Defense installation resilience.
Apr 28, 2023
Blog
Regulating Space, Threats to Critical Infrastructure, Psychedelics: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the need for governance in outer space, why the recent FAA system failure was a wake-up call, the changing policy landscape around psychedelic therapies, and more.
Jan 20, 2023
Report
Bolstering U.S. Air Bases Against Chinese and Russian Attacks
There's a growing consensus that China and Russia represent major threats to U.S. interests, and there are calls to counter the threats cost-effectively. Air base resilience requires close familiarity with the threat, a systematic approach for addressing it, and sustained efforts to build on investments in protection.
Jan 17, 2023
Report
A Methodology for Quantifying the Value of Cybersecurity Investments in the Navy
Researchers developed a methodology to assess the value of resource options for U.S. Navy cybersecurity investments. The proposed methodology enables the Navy to rationalize the cost-effectiveness of potential investments within the POM process.
Sep 28, 2022
Report
Air Force Operational Test and Training Infrastructure: Barriers to Full Implementation
This report offers stakeholders in Air Force training a framework for discerning the implications of different training infrastructure investments for assessing the readiness of individuals and aircrews.
Feb 28, 2022
Report
Enhancing Defence's Contribution to Societal Resilience in the UK: Lessons from International Approaches
This study sought to understand other nations' approaches to societal resilience to enhance UK resilience. The study defined societal resilience and its importance, analysed other countries' practices, and identified lessons relevant to UK Defence.
Oct 21, 2021
Research Brief
The Growing Exposure of Air Force Installations to Natural Disasters
Some Department of the Air Force installations face high levels of exposure to flooding, wildfires, or high winds. Twenty installations have areas with high or very high wildfire potential.
Sep 16, 2021
Report
Aligning Roles and Missions for Future Multidomain Warfare
The formal decisions, documents, and events that established the roles, missions, and functions (RMF) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the military services in the early postwar years are over 70 years old. Is the existing RMF framework fundamentally sound, requiring only modest adjustments?
Aug 19, 2021
Commentary
U.S. Military Power Comes from More Than Just the Defense Budget
With U.S. domestic challenges ranging from the ongoing pandemic to long-delayed infrastructure investments, now is a good time to consider spending that provides both domestic and national security benefits. Infrastructure spending offers one such example.
May 10, 2021
Commentary
The Pentagon Could Help Improve Resilience of the U.S. Electric Grid
The resilience and robustness of the U.S. electric grid needs to be improved, especially given the likely increased occurrence and magnitude of natural disasters due to climate change. This is where government entities that operate large facilities in the United States, such as the Department of Defense, can potentially play a role.
Mar 25, 2021
Report
Winning the Battle of the Airfields
Airfields have long been recognized as essential military facilities. And combatants have gone to great lengths to destroy enemy aircraft on the ground and to deny the use of airfields through attacks. What enduring lessons do RAND's seven decades of work on air base defense and attack provide?
Feb 24, 2021
Report
How to Protect Army Installations from Emerging Threats
Emerging technologies such as drones, 5G communications, smart city systems, and the use of social media disinformation by adversaries all pose potential threats to U.S. Army bases. A new framework can help assess possible solutions and the resources required to defend against these threats.
Nov 10, 2020
Report
Alternatives for Reducing Army Installation Utility Bills While Enhancing Installation Readiness
Researchers identified options for reducing installation utility costs in three areas: reducing commodity payments; finding alternative funding sources for energy and water system investments; and leveraging nontraditional partnerships.
Jun 18, 2020
Report
Improving the Allocation and Execution of Army Facility Sustainment Funding
To identify strategies and make recommendations on improving the allocation and execution of Army installation facility sustainment funding, the authors compare Army practices with those in the other Services and in the public and private sectors.
Apr 23, 2020
Report
The Defense Industrial Base Needs a Cyber Protection Program
The unclassified networks of defense industrial base firms have become a target for adversaries seeking to steal sensitive data, trade secrets, and intellectual property. How can the U.S. Department of Defense better secure these networks?
Mar 30, 2020
Q&A
Thinking Outside the Grid: Q&A with Anu Narayanan
Anu Narayanan, an engineer at RAND, is a specialist in what-ifs. Her research focuses on critical infrastructure and national security. In this interview, she discusses her latest work that explores what would happen if a cyberattacker tried to take down the power grid.
Mar 5, 2020
Report
Options for Deterring Attacks Against the Power Grid
The U.S. military relies on electric power to accomplish critical missions. And most of the electricity consumed by installations in the continental United States comes from the commercial grid. How can the Defense Department protect the power grid from physical and cyber attacks?
Jan 6, 2020
Report
Next-Generation Wargaming for the U.S. Marine Corps
The U.S. Marine Corps has an opportunity to adopt wargaming best practices, tools, and approaches from other sources and adapt them to suit its needs. What courses of action should the Marine Corps take toward building its next-generation wargaming concept?
Oct 16, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Defense Infrastructure

Topic Synonyms:
Military Infrastructure

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Robert S. Tripp

Senior Management Scientist

Robert S. Tripp is a senior management scientist at the RAND Corporation. He has more than 35 years of experience in the areas of military logistics systems design, development, management, and evaluation. At RAND, Tripp has led research projects for the Air Force, Army, Office of the Secretary…
Michael E. Linick

Senior International / Defense Researcher

Michael Linick is a Senior Defense Researcher/Analyst at the RAND Corporation. His research encompasses a wide range of areas, including military strategy, operations, and readiness; force structure; reserve component issues; mobilization; defense civilian and military manpower; and, defense…

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