Security and Defense Research

RAND helped create the field of defense analysis after World War II. Modern researchers at RAND, including RAND School students, carry on this tradition. Common topic areas include strategy and policy, technology and acquisition, logistics, and personnel. Students doing research in this area employ diverse methods: modeling and simulation, wargaming, archival research, econometric analysis, and more. In recent years, roughly forty percent of students’ project work (OJT) has been related to defense and security.

Student-Faculty Research Collaborations

Through project-based research and other OJT and experiential learning opportunities, students work with faculty mentors to obtain professional skills and tacit knowledge that courses alone cannot convey. Here are a few recent projects and their resulting research.

Fiscal Year 2025 Assessment of the Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project
Ph.D. students Nolan Yager and Elliott Brennan worked with other RAND researchers to assess the Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project and foud that the project is helping hire, pay, and manage employees more flexibly than the standard system, but there are areas for improvement.
What Knowledge and Skills Does the U.S. Air Force Need to Compete with China?
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) faces a critical opportunity—and urgent necessity—to systematically cultivate, track, and integrate China-relevant expertise across its workforce. Ph.D. student Rebecca Wusinich partners with RAND researchers to assess how the USAF develops, recognizes, and applies China-relevant expertise.
Integrating Innovation into U.S. Department of War Requirements Reform
Ph.D. student Jim Mignano and RAND researchers explored how the U.S. Department of War can better connect its modernization efforts with real military needs by reforming its requirements system to turn fast-moving innovations into lasting, effective capabilities for warfighters.
China’s Aging Population and the Implications for China’s Security
China's population could lose 250 million people by 2050. Ph.D student Rakesh Pandey and Ph.D. graduate Agnes Xiangzhen Wang examine how this accelerating crisis will reshape global stability, economies, and alliances worldwide.
The Defense Contract Management Agency's Resource Workload Model Ecosystem
Ph.D. student Elliott Brennan worked alongside RAND researchers to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of the Defense Contract Management Agency's (DCMA's) Integrated Resource Workload Model, which estimates the annual DCMA workload and the number of necessary personnel.
Surveying Duality in Space: Volume I, Americas Workshop Insights on Developing, Deploying, and Governing Dual-Use Space Systems
A RAND project convened 14 space stakeholders from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Costa Rica across government, private, and research sectors for a workshop examining dual-use space systems: those capable of performing both civilian and military operations. Ph.D. student Amal Altwaijri worked with RAND researcher to articulate key themes summarizing participant insights.

Explore RAND School student-authored research on Security and Defense

Jul 9, 2026

Do Robots Lure Us to War? The Impact of the Robotic Revolution on the Propensity for Armed Conflict

The author developed a framework to understand the decision space for the use of force in the presence of emerging technology and applied it to autonomous weapons systems.

Krystyna Marcinek
Sep 23, 2024

Always 2020: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the DoD's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

This retrospective, ex ante analysis examines the cost-benefit implications of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate implemented by the DoD in August 2021, following the full FDA licensing of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine.

Mary Avriette
Jul 25, 2024

Hurry Up and Wait: Over-Absorption in a Pilot Shortage: Simulating Pilot Absorption at a US Air Force Fighter Squadron and the Implications of Recent Policy Changes

Explores how pilot absorption changes under policies affecting major components of operational squadron flight operations and what drives absorption at the squadron level.

Ignacio A. Lara
Nov 8, 2022

Thinking About the Unthinkable: Examining North Korea's Military Threat to China

Examines North Korea's military threat to China.

Diana Y. Myers
Oct 5, 2022

A Proposed Decision Framework for DoD Investment in Nuclear Energy Technology: Focused on Microreactors at DoD Locations in the U.S.

Proposes a decision framework to help DoD decisionmakers determine whether an investment in nuclear energy technologies is worthwhile.

Kyle D. Haak
Sep 30, 2021

Youth Information Networks and Propensity to Serve in the Military

Provides military recruitment planners a more comprehensive understanding of how youth build and access their career and educational information networks in high school, as part of their decision-making process.

Diana Gehlhaus
Aug 12, 2021

Increasing Fighter Pilot Retention with Improved Basing Decisions

Leverages a value-added model to identify changes to Air Force basing policy that could improve fighter pilot retention outcomes.

Russell H. Williams
Feb 23, 2021

Exploring the Influences of External Factors on the Veteran Disability Compensation Program

Explores factors affecting the performance and scope of the veteran disability compensation program.

Nicholas Broten
Sep 23, 2020

Attracting the Right Volunteers: U.S. Army Functional Areas and the Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program

Explores how the United States Army has adapted to the Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program, which allows mid-career Army officers to volunteer to switch specialties to a functional area.

William H. Waggy, II
Sep 21, 2020

Loosening the Okinawan Knot: A Mixed-Methods Study of Okinawan Public Perceptions of the U.S. Military

Provides a detailed and reliable understanding of the nature of the Okinawan public's perceptions, policy preferences, and cultural attitudes regarding the problems and benefits associated with the U.S. military in Okinawa.

Balys Gintautas
Jun 15, 2020

Fulfilling Clandestiny: Reframing the "Crime-Terror Nexus" by Exploring Conditions of Insurgent and Criminal Organizations' Origins, Incentives, and Strategic Pivots

Explores the fundamental relationship and underlying incentives that drive criminal and ideological strategies and operations.

Etienne Rosas
Jun 3, 2020

Improving the Air Force Medical Service's Expeditionary Medical Support System: A Simulation Approach: Analysis of Mass-Casualty Combat and Disaster Relief Scenarios

Uses a simulation tool to analyze the Air Force's Expeditionary Medical Support System to see how it performs, what changes can be made, and the specific impacts on overall patient outcomes for different patient streams.

John A. Hamm

View all RAND School dissertations

Security and Defense Research

Student-Faculty Research Collaborations

Fiscal Year 2025 Assessment of the Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project

What Knowledge and Skills Does the U.S. Air Force Need to Compete with China?

Integrating Innovation into U.S. Department of War Requirements Reform

China’s Aging Population and the Implications for China’s Security

The Defense Contract Management Agency's Resource Workload Model Ecosystem

Surveying Duality in Space: Volume I, Americas Workshop Insights on Developing, Deploying, and Governing Dual-Use Space Systems

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Do Robots Lure Us to War? The Impact of the Robotic Revolution on the Propensity for Armed Conflict

Always 2020: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the DoD's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Hurry Up and Wait: Over-Absorption in a Pilot Shortage: Simulating Pilot Absorption at a US Air Force Fighter Squadron and the Implications of Recent Policy Changes

Thinking About the Unthinkable: Examining North Korea's Military Threat to China

A Proposed Decision Framework for DoD Investment in Nuclear Energy Technology: Focused on Microreactors at DoD Locations in the U.S.

Youth Information Networks and Propensity to Serve in the Military

Increasing Fighter Pilot Retention with Improved Basing Decisions

Exploring the Influences of External Factors on the Veteran Disability Compensation Program

Attracting the Right Volunteers: U.S. Army Functional Areas and the Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program

Loosening the Okinawan Knot: A Mixed-Methods Study of Okinawan Public Perceptions of the U.S. Military

Fulfilling Clandestiny: Reframing the "Crime-Terror Nexus" by Exploring Conditions of Insurgent and Criminal Organizations' Origins, Incentives, and Strategic Pivots

Improving the Air Force Medical Service's Expeditionary Medical Support System: A Simulation Approach: Analysis of Mass-Casualty Combat and Disaster Relief Scenarios

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Security and Defense Research

Student-Faculty Research Collaborations

Fiscal Year 2025 Assessment of the Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project

What Knowledge and Skills Does the U.S. Air Force Need to Compete with China?

Integrating Innovation into U.S. Department of War Requirements Reform

China’s Aging Population and the Implications for China’s Security

The Defense Contract Management Agency's Resource Workload Model Ecosystem

Surveying Duality in Space: Volume I, Americas Workshop Insights on Developing, Deploying, and Governing Dual-Use Space Systems

Related Dissertations

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Do Robots Lure Us to War? The Impact of the Robotic Revolution on the Propensity for Armed Conflict

Always 2020: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the DoD's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Hurry Up and Wait: Over-Absorption in a Pilot Shortage: Simulating Pilot Absorption at a US Air Force Fighter Squadron and the Implications of Recent Policy Changes

Thinking About the Unthinkable: Examining North Korea's Military Threat to China

A Proposed Decision Framework for DoD Investment in Nuclear Energy Technology: Focused on Microreactors at DoD Locations in the U.S.

Youth Information Networks and Propensity to Serve in the Military

Increasing Fighter Pilot Retention with Improved Basing Decisions

Exploring the Influences of External Factors on the Veteran Disability Compensation Program

Attracting the Right Volunteers: U.S. Army Functional Areas and the Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program

Loosening the Okinawan Knot: A Mixed-Methods Study of Okinawan Public Perceptions of the U.S. Military

Fulfilling Clandestiny: Reframing the "Crime-Terror Nexus" by Exploring Conditions of Insurgent and Criminal Organizations' Origins, Incentives, and Strategic Pivots

Improving the Air Force Medical Service's Expeditionary Medical Support System: A Simulation Approach: Analysis of Mass-Casualty Combat and Disaster Relief Scenarios

Oops! An unexpected error has occurred.