“It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself”
– Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 1859

In an ever changing battlespace, it is the force that is best equipped to deal with change that seizes victory. The ability to rapidly respond to opportunity and counter threat is what differentiates victory and brutal defeat for our force. In our doctrine, a manoeuverist approach to categorically undermine and defeat the foe’s centre of gravity (CoG) is key to decisive victory.

COL Dale Eikmeier, US Army (Ret’d) defines CoG as “the primary entity that possesses the inherent capability to achieve the objective” (Eikmeier, D, 2010, Redefining the Centre of Gravity). The ability to identify, target, and exploit critical vulnerabilities – thus removing the foundational pillars holding up the CoG – is key to the manoeuverist approach. This relies on accurate and timely detection, identification, and targeting of these critical vulnerabilities. The acceleration of technology has meant that now more than ever, a technologically advanced force emboldened by embracing the philosophy of mission command is best enabled to exploit opportunity and undermine an opponent. A technologically enabled Army of the future is able to shorten the targeting kill chain and dominate tempo of decision making through technological aids. To support my exploration into the rapid advance of technology and its impact on the Army I will rely on an old, tested adage: Shoot, Move, Communicate.

Shoot – Rapid advances in weaponry and the ubiquity of autonomous or unmanned systems and long-ranged precision guided munitions (PGMs) has made the battlefield more dangerous than ever. A force exploiting these systems will thrive in the battlespace. Equally, the pace of development of non-lethal tools to support stability or security operations in a contested environment has brought additional complexity to the battlefield. The conflict of the future will likely take place in and around some of the most densely populated regions on earth. Speed, precision, and proportionality of targeting will be key to success in future conflict.

Advances in unmanned or autonomous weapons are occurring at an unprecedented pace. Innovative advances in technology have enabled forces to influence the battlespace with more speed and lethality than ever seen before. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the permeation of unmanned systems across the air, land, and sea domains – but none have gained the same degree of attention as the simple UAS. Employed to devastating effect, the use of drones for both reconnaissance and targeting has ushered in a new way of waging war. While a simple drone with an RPG warhead strapped to it is an effective tool, our modern Army may have a much more sophisticated tool at its disposal: the loitering munition. A simple UAS designed to incorporate advanced sensors, guidance systems and explosive warheads provides not only an extremely potent guided weapon for the accurate and rapid engagement of targets, but also a significant advantage to integral ISR capabilities of a force. Coupled with advances in AI, one could imagine a force capable of launching a number of AI networked loitering munitions being fed live information on high value targets and their distinguishing features. When the AI suspects it has identified a HVT, it notifies an operator, who verifies the target and decides whether to strike it. This integration of an autonomous network linked to both a sensor system and weapons system enables us to do more with less, allowing us to have a greater effect over a wider area. An integrated network of loitering munitions launched by dispersed forces within an AO linked back to a decision maker at the battlegroup or brigade headquarters would create a significantly enhanced level of battlefield situational awareness for commanders at all levels and enable the targeting of HVTs without risk to other assets.

Move – Mobility is a critical capability of the land force, and technological advances have enabled a force to traverse the battlespace with increased speed. The danger of an ever prevalent sensor net requires constant displacement of forces, and any tool that enables speed of manoeuvre is a force multiplier. As alluded to previously, a technologically advanced force emboldened by mission command is best enabled to undermine an enemy’s CoG. Despite our best efforts, we are not always in the right place at the right time, and as such will always need to manoeuvre through the battlespace to get there. Unmanned ground systems will become increasingly critical to enhancing the survivability of manoeuvre forces. Enhanced with AI linked sensors integrated within a wider ISR network, they present a powerful form of early warning, further enabling a commander to decide when, where, and how they should move through the battlespace. Some UGV are able to be equipped with weapons systems, including both 12.7mm machine gun and javelin, enabling them to not only enhance situational awareness, but also support manoeuvre in their own right.

To express the edge that advanced technologies could provide to a manoeuvre element while moving through the battlespace, I will look at a typical decision point for a cavalry troop: the humble defile drill. On identifying a complex defile, the troop leader would be able to conduct an initial overflight with a UAS, either an in service or future loitering munition, to inspect the defile and far bank with its sensor systems. They could then hand the UAS off to the AI sensor network with a set of criteria to pass control back to an operator, such as detection of an AFV on the far bank. Once handed off, a UGV could be deployed to drive the defile, employing its sensors to detect enemy within the defile. On moving through the defile, they could again hand the UGV off to the AI sensor network with direction to an overwatch position to support the movement of the troop through the defile. At any point, where a target is detected, the AI is able to notify the troop leader who can then make an assessment and either permit engagement or direct the AI to continue to monitor the threat.

The enhanced capability of technology to understand and predict data about the land further enhances mobility. Advances in satellite technology, mapping systems, and machine learning will enable prediction of natural effects and understanding of ground to a far higher degree than previously possible. This will provide unmatched ability to conduct terrain analysis for commanders, and enable more effective manoeuvre planning. On the ground, networked autonomous systems provide an additional degree of awareness to manoeuvre commanders, enabling them to move through the battlespace with additional layers of security and, by proxy: more speed.

Communicate – In order for information to be valuable, it must also be timely and accurate. Too often are critical opportunities missed by commanders due to insufficient, inaccurate, or late reporting.

Enhanced communications suites, augmented reality, and AI should all play a role in aiding commander decision making and supporting the networked battlefield. Linked in with the other tools discussed above, these systems can also enhance communications. In an increasingly contested electronic spectrum where encrypted radiofrequency (RF) communications are no longer the untouchable bastion of secure communications they once were, alternate solutions must be sought. Advances in secure transmission of data packets, satellite communications, and battlefield management systems will enable a commander to have access to more information than ever before. The incorporation of AI will become critical to provide a point of initial data management to mitigate risk of overwhelming commanders with information and creating decision paralysis, with staff decision making being supported by information being initially filtered by AI that is given and trained on sets of criteria and categories to filter that information by.

Augmented reality will additionally become an effective communication tool for commanders. We are already seeing augmented reality systems become more commonplace in the civilian markets, and it is not a stretch to anticipate their relevance in a military context. The ability for live video feeds, new orders, or directions to nearest enemy to be projected directly from autonomous systems or higher headquarters directly to soldier displays enables information to be communicated quicker and more effectively than previously possible. Conversely, if a soldier identifies something critical, AR systems linked to the soldier combat ensemble and networked could enable a commander to see what a soldier is seeing in real time.

While the core nature of war will not change, the tools with which we fight it will. As a professional fighting force, we must be at the forefront of this change and embrace innovative new solutions to battlefield problems. Our adversary is embracing these changes, and in some fields is the frontrunner in their adoption. We adapt, or we die.