We don't really know that 'the USAF' wanted anything; that bit has the 'citation needed' flag set in wikipedia. The paper itself makes no comment on the presume

We don't really know that 'the USAF' wanted anything; that bit has the 'citation needed' flag set in wikipedia. The paper itself makes no comment on the presumed answer to the question, focusing mostly on mathematical models. It certainly makes for a good drama though.