Paradigm Lost

Colonel Allvin analyzes the theater airlift implications for the United States Army's vision, Army After Next (AAN)-now called the Army Vision: The Transformation of the Army, which is a continuum of the AAN-for land warfare in the twenty-first century. He identifies theater airlift capabilities critical to the AAN concept and examines emerging systems that seem likely to furnish those capabilities. He argues that improvements in cargo-handling, situational awareness, and defensive systems-as well as the ability to operate in austere conditions-constitute the most crucial future requirements for theater airlift. Colonel Allvin concludes that the most promising emerging systems for achieving required theater airlift capabilities include the tilt-wing concept, autonomous cargo-handling systems, and a standoff capability for examining the suitability of opportune landing sites