US STRENGTHENS MULTI DOMAIN CONCEPT

he US Army’s annual convention, AUSA, gives an insight into how the force is looking to evolve towards the future.The focus had been towards 2030 but, in two meetings now, I am beginning to hear that replaced with 2035 and even 2040. The eve of 2030 is only seven years away which, as we know, in developmental terms is just around the corner.

The economic rise of China has fuelled a rapid expansion of all arms of its military, which has led to attempts to push out its region of influence including the South and East China Seas. It has assimilated Hong Kong back into the fabric of the nation and threatens to do the same to Taiwan, which is much against that nation’s wishes.

This strategic upsurge has combined with a resurgent Russia, witnessed by its ongoing barbaric attack on Ukraine which was launched earlier this year, an indication of a push back against NATO’s influence in eastern Europe.

The 2018 the US National Defense Strategy (NDS) pointed to the “reemergence of long-term, strategic competition”, recognising that the United States was again strategically challenged around the world, especially in Europe and the Indo Pacific. To that end, one aspect of the US Army’s modernisation has since been focused on the build up of forces to support its Multi Domain Operations (MDO) concept. Within that are three established Multi Domain Task Forces (MDTF). The first was founded in 2017 to serve in the Indo Pacific and is based in Washington State, while the second will operate in Europe from Germany and was established in 2021. There is now a third, activated in the last few months in the Pacific and will be based at Fort Shafter in Hawaii.

The MDO concept is defined by the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), as the “rapid and continuous integration of all domains of warfare [so that it can] counter and defeat a near-peer adversary capable of contesting the US in all domains [air, land, maritime, space and cyberspace] in both competition and armed conflict.”

With the rise of anti-access / area denial (A2/AD), a concept built up by China as it seeks to control the geographical areas previously mentioned, it is recognised that to compete and succeed operationally in such areas requires the unification of all effects across all domainsland, sea, air, space and cyberspace - and to be able to do this with allies when required.

MDTFs have been established to be theatre-specific and that embrace a range of capabilities, both kinetic and non-kinetic, to allow the penetration of and operation within a supposed A2/ AD area or region. Aside from kinetic capabilities, the MDTFs will also be specialised in cyber, electronic warfare, intelligence, and long-range capabilities.

In her statement at the opening ceremony of AUSA, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth stated that “the Army has been busy in INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific Command), building partnerships through the multiple exercises that comprise Pacific Pathways.” These are exercises that are conducted by US Army Pacific Command that involve the militaries of allies and partners in the region. Secretary Wormuth later added that Japan and Australia were both building and modernising their own forces and “are [both] open to working with the US to develop their capabilities in line with multi domain task force.”

Andrew Drwiega, Editor-in-Chief

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