We* describe a large-scale linear program, NRMO, for increasing the United States' ability to efficiently transport equipment, supplies and personnel by air during military contingencies. The model routes cargo and passengers to optimize on-time delivery and other military objectives, subject to many physical and policy constraints. NRMO captures a significant number of the important aspects of a large-scale military airlift, including aerial refueling, in-theater aircraft shuttles, en-route base infrastructure, range-payload performance, crew staging and more. Due to these features, NRMO is beginning to overcome the longstanding bias in the mobility analysis community to dismiss optimization as too unrealistic for studying strategic airlift. The model has been applied in several DoD analyses, concerning, for example, fleet modernization and European airbase infrastructure. The model's structure and applications will be discussed, along with opportunities for further research.

*This work was done jointly with Steven F. Baker of the US Air Force Academy, David P. Morton of the University of Texas at Austin, and Laura Melody Williams of NPS.