The defence trade show DVD, short for Defense Vehicle Dynamics, held its annual event at the UTAC Millbrook proving grounds from 18-19 September 2024. This conference functions as a land equipment showcase for British and allied ground forces, and the 2024 event’s theme was to deliver ‘More Modern, More Lethal and More Productive’ armies. Platforms of note are the Boxer and Ajax Armored Fighting Vehicles, as well as new experimental modifications of these platforms for specific geographies and threat environments.
Among the speakers was US Army Brigadier General Tony Denomy. Denomy highlighted the US Army’s and wider American military’s need to be prepared for a variety of threats, classified into as acute and pacing, regional, and non-state extremist blocs. Acute and pacing threats include near-peers such as Russia and China, which have significant military investment, a global reach of operations, and compete with the US in all threat environments. This is seen in the full-spectrum competition across air, land, and sea domains, in space and satellite capabilities, and nonconventional cyber and electronic warfare, which frequently sees major hacking incidents. Regional threats include North Korea and Iran, whose more limited resources mean there is not full-spectrum competition, and whose challenges are largely contained to specific geographies. The final threat type, non-state extremists, include Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and similar terrorist networks. While these may present global challenges, as seen in the international branches of ISIS, these are also insurgent groups that lack the legitimacy and military power of state actors. A challenge for the US Army is to both prepare for and fully fund a military that can adapt to and succeed in each of these separate threat environments.
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To this end, the US Army has been funding continuous development for the 2040 army, including improved soldier systems, armaments, networked defences, and doctrinal review. The goal of these reforms is to be continuous and flexible. Denomy stressed that while the vision of a future army by 2040 should not be sacrificed, the road to achieving future capabilities can change significantly based on learned experience. Already, Ukraine war combat analysis has been incorporated to assumptions of survivability, the role of electronic warfare, and the importance of mobility and rapid dispersion.
A goal that Denomy highlighted with improving networking technology was the objective to “never trade blood for first contact”. The significance of this is, with improved unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles, opposing units and defences can be detected and potentially triggered without placing human life at risk. Historically, unmanned systems were prohibitively expensive and had questionable reliability. This meant the few systems that did operate could only be used for general purpose surveillance, and rarely could engage in combat. With more advanced electric warfare systems and countermeasures, and numerically more unmanned systems in play that convey information to command system networks. Equally important are command and control centres able to analyse this information, and immediately provide actionable intelligence in fast-moving combat situations. The possibilities of AI to assist human analysts in sorting useful signal intelligence will be essential to sorting increased data loads. Information from networked unmanned systems in coordination with advanced command centres will ensure troops on the ground engage with as much information on opponent’s location, numbers, and armaments as possible. This ensures the greatest possible tactical advantage with the lowest potential for casualties.
Ultimately, the future of US, UK, and allied army fighting formations is a constantly evolving process that adapts as new technologies and environments emerge. The US Army’s need to prepare for three major threat types means it requires maximum flexibility in its fighting doctrine and troop armament. Investment in unmanned systems and data networks, although not a panacea, is widely applicable to all environments. This will fully utilise American technology abilities to act as a force multiplier.
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