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Integrated Approach to U.S. Air Defense of Central Europe Should Result in More Effective Mission Accomplishment

C-MASAD-81-18 Published: Sep 18, 1981. Publicly Released: Sep 18, 1981.
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Highlights

The U.S. Army and the Air Force air defense forces stationed in central Europe share a joint mission and a combined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mission to defend the NATO central region airspace against an attack by the Warsaw Pact. In its review of this mission, GAO focused on critical issues needing Department of Defense (DOD) attention to improve the effectiveness of joint mission capabilities.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should take the necessary steps to establish air defense as a single DOD mission category and ensure sufficient funding priority to meet both near-term and long-term mission needs.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should establish a workable coordination process under the control and direction of the Office of the Secretary of Defense to formulate the most appropriate air defense weapon system mixes needed to attain specified force levels for central Europe. This process should require preparation of a joint service/Office of the Secretary of Defense long-range air defense modernization plan.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should require preparation of an assessment of the Warsaw Pact threat to the NATO central European air defenses including aircraft, electronic countermeasures, chemical-biological, and tactical ballistic missile threats, together with the current and future combined air defense capabilities available to meet the threat. This assessment should be the common basis for all U.S. air defense studies and analyses.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should provide, on a continuing basis, more realistic air defense training and exercises with emphasis on representative, combined forces and equipment, aircraft identification procedures, command and control, and electronic warfare and countermeasures.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should work toward revisions to the NATO central region Airspace Control Plan that will not restrict the use of air defense weapons and actively pursue needed revisions with our NATO allies, if appropriate.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should closely monitor the U.S. participation in NATO efforts to develop and field new cooperative aircraft identification equipment to ensure that NATO-wide introduction of interoperable equipment will be expedited.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should evaluate the full range of joint Army and Air Force weapon system options for the entire air defense mission, relating the cost and effectiveness of each major improvement in order of priority to specific near- and long-term limitations/shortcomings within the joint mission area.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that an immediate evaluation is made of alternatives for increasing near-term airborne firepower capability such as: (1) maintaining F-4 aircraft in Europe because of their medium-range missile capability; (2) increasing operational unit flying hours for air defense training of F-4 and F-16 ground attack units; and (3) accelerating deployment of F-15 or F-16 aircraft to Europe.
Closed
Please call 202/512-6100 for additional information.

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Air defense systemsDefense economic analysisInternational relationsMilitary forcesMilitary operationsProgram evaluationWeapons systemsInternational organizationsAircraft acquisition programAir defenses