MULTIDOMAIN DOMINANCE
T
he U.S. Army is known for protecting our nation predominantly on land. But as our adversaries’ capabilities advance, so must the Army’s abilities to predict, counter and, if necessary, defeat them.
Focusing mainly on proficiency in one or two domains can limit the Army’s ability to advance in support of the joint force. Poten- tial adversarial threats—primarily posed by (but not limited to) China and Russia—call for the Army, as part of the joint force, to continuously transform to operate in all domains on a future battlefield. Tis means not only having specialized experience on the ground, but across all domains holistically.
In December 2018, the Army published “Te U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028,” which outlines the impor- tance of maintaining a position of superiority and how to win future conflicts. According to the U.S. Army’s Field Manual 3-0, “multidomain operations are the combined arms employment of joint and Army capabilities to create and exploit relative advan- tages that achieve objectives, defeat enemy forces and consolidate gains on behalf of joint force commanders. Employing Army and joint capabilities makes use of all available combat power from each domain to accomplish missions at least cost.” In essence, multidomain operations are an effort that the Army, as part of the joint force, is undertaking to expand frontline operations and expertise across all domains and synchronize them across an interconnected and uncertain operating environment.
THE DOMAIN IN MULTIDOMAIN For the U.S. and its allies to maintain dominance, warfighters must remain ready to engage across the competition continuum. Current Army doctrine identifies five key areas covered in multi- domain operations: land, air, maritime, space and cyberspace. Potential adversaries are challenging these areas and compet- ing for dominance across the multidomain environment. Space and cyberspace operations have not always been at the forefront within the Army, but are becoming increasingly important.
“Tere are specific departments of the DOD that are our special- ists in those areas: the Air Force, the Navy, cyber and even Space Force,” said Col. Rashad Fulcher, senior simulations officer with the U.S. Army Operational Test Command. “In order to fully round out a true MDO [multidomain operations] environment, I think that we absolutely need to conduct joint testing or at least have joint representation in our operational testing. It’s impor- tant to the Army because of our current and future threats. As we see world events in current conflicts … people are targeting electronic signals. Te electronic environment is a concern for us, and we need to be ahead of that threat.”
For example, in a potential combat scenario the Army will secure terrain with armored vehicles and ground forces while coordinat- ing with Air Force-operated fighter jets and Navy-operated ships, while using space satellites to track and monitor the location of the threats and using cyberspace communications to exploit and disrupt the enemy’s technology.
TESTING THE WATERS … AND LAND, AIR AND CYBERSPACE While stressing the importance of multidomain operations is easy, experimenting, testing and training to operate in a multi- domain environment is a different story. It comes as no surprise that live, physical testing and training is costly and potentially hazardous. In October 2023, to address the Army’s need to prepare for future dominance, the U.S. Army Test and Evalua- tion Command (ATEC) conducted multidomain operations in a test environment that included live, virtual and constructive (LVC) simulations. Te demonstration, conducted in Mary- land at Aberdeen Proving Ground, networked capabilities from all eight ATEC locations throughout the U.S. to successfully test operational scenarios in the land, air, space and cyberspace domains. In addition to testing, the LVC environment can enable experimentation and training opportunities that are not only realistic but allow testing of systems, concepts, formations and
Focus areas that are tested today will change tomorrow and organizations will require different training conditions. The LVC test environment can be tailored based on specific user needs and requirements.
18 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2024
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