The purpose of this report is to evaluate the economic wisdom of the United States adopting policies that rely primarily on expensive expendable weapons, such as cruise missiles, to conduct air-to-ground strike missions. We examine the historical use of air-to-ground attack by the U.S. military during and since the Vietnam War and examine when exclusive use of expendable methods would be cost-prohibitive compared to using reusable weapons platforms. This analysis focuses solely on cost and does not explore the range of capabilities different weapon systems offer. Thus, our conclusions do not address strategies involving a mix of reusable penetrating aircraft...