A U.S. Army study has found that the service will need to become faster and more flexible to stay at least one step ahead of potential near-peer adversaries on multi-domain battlefields in the coming decades.
With enemies expected to deploy more advanced sensors, the Army will have to learn how to confuse or evade those devices, or outrun them before they can process the data they collect, said Brig. Gen. Mark Odom, head of the Concept Development and Learning Directorate at the Army Capabilities Integration Center at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.
With the Army consuming large amounts of fuel to drive its current fleet of M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and using a lot of batteries to power its radios and other systems, it wants to figure out how to reduce that logistical burden to increase mobility. “We have to think about different ways to supply ourselves,” Odom told reporters Dec. 7.
The Army expects it will have to determine how to maintain assured communications in a more decentralized environment. Acknowledging that it may fall short in a conflict, it will also have to train soldiers to continue to fight if the communications are degraded.
Echoing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who recently vowed that the Army will begin shooting down aircraft and sinking ships in addition to performing its traditional role of ground warfare, Odom said the Army is working with the Marine Corps to develop cross-domain capabilities. The two services have jointly written a draft white paper on the topic.
“We’re going to have to become more integrated in order to create more options for the commander at any number of levels and to create more dilemmas for the enemy,” Odom said.
Improved unmanned systems will be needed across many areas, according to Odom. But the human will remain in the decision-making and employment process.
Odom’s comments are based on the findings of a Unified Quest seminar that the Army held last month to examine the challenges and needs of the force in the 2035 to 2050 period.