What is a multi-domain operation?
The multi-domain operation will change the way the Army fights in order to counter the wide variety of A2 / AD strategies of China and Russia. , Expanding its role in the cyber domain, aiming to be autonomous and complementary to other services in the A2 / AD environment.
A2 / AD (Anti-Access / Area Denial) is the name for the Chinese military's maritime military strategy, which means anti-access / area denial. China emphasized the first island chain (Sakhalin-Japan-Okinawa-Philippines-Borneo Island) and the second island chain (Izu Islands-Ogasawara Islands-Guam Saipan-Papua New Guinea) as resistance lines during the Deng Xiaoping era in 1982. I made a plan.
The concept consisted of two parts: near-sea defense with the inside of the first island chain as the main defensive sea area, and far-sea defense with the sea area up to the second island chain as the forward defensive sea area. And now, the third island chain (Aleutian Islands-Hawaii-Samoa-New Zealand) is set.
Many Chinese missiles (ground-to-ship, surface-to-air) have already been deployed on the first island chain, and a radar network has been constructed. It is also within the range of submarines, fighters, and bombers, and operating in this area poses a huge risk to the US military. The second island chain is within the range of the aircraft carrier killer (DF-21) with a range of 1750 km and above, and the Guam killer (DF-26) with a range of 3,000 to 5,000 km, but at present the only direct threat is missiles. The Army has lower mobility than the Navy and Air Force, and the range of major firearms is short. It can be said that the Army's "within A2 / AD" refers to the area within the first island chain.
Complementing other services is, in a sense, a painstaking measure for the survival of the Army (budgeting). Traditionally, the Army is an organization that engages in large-scale battles on land. In the past, it is easy to imagine the operation of the desert storm during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The operation was carried out by the United Nations forces, which are mainly US forces. The Navy and Air Force supported large-scale Army power projections for several months, with large-scale and thorough air strikes by the Air Force prior to the launch of land-based attacks. The Navy carried out support shooting by Tomahawk from the coastal area, and the Marine Corps carried out landing operations from the southeast direction and devoted themselves to demonstration. Whenever the Army fought against other nations, the Army was the protagonist.
On the other hand, when it comes to competing with China's A2 / AD, that is not the case. In particular, the assumed front lines to the southwest of the main battlefield are the sea and islands. Relying on the Army's identity of "fighting on land" forces us to be in a position to support the Marines, Navy, and Air Force.
Features of multi-domain operations
(1) How the U.S. military and partner units organize, practice, and adopt abilities and methods that transcend time and physical space to cross territories, environments, and functions, and compete with the enemy in operations that do not lead to armed conflict. Or a strategic / tactical concept of destroying the enemy as needed
(2) How to fight by exercising influence across land, air, sea, space, and cyber territory and exerting a synergistic effect on the interaction between territories.
To summarize ① and ② concretely, in cooperation with partner units, compete and deter with enemies in the areas of land, sea, air, space and cyber, and if deterrence breaks down, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps Share the same common operational picture in real time and win by complementing and hitting each other's targeting. Is it such a place? For each army that has operated in different areas, not only doctrine but also huge budget and collaborative training are required to synchronize equipment, operation, communication, culture and so on. Cooperation with other armed forces is even more difficult. Therefore, basically, rather than conducting the same operation, it will be limited to conducting operations in cooperation.
Army multi-domain formation
On March 16, 2021, US Army Chief of Staff General McConville announced the "Army Multi-Domain Formation" as a complement to the above.
The white paper states that while the enemy is qualitatively and quantitatively superior to the joint forces, the collapse of deterrence and the U.S. It will be modernized by 2035 to reduce the risk to significant profits and establish an advantage over hostile forces in ongoing large-scale combat operations.
For the strongest US military, it is the first time in history that it has a qualitative and quantitative superiority, and it is very interesting to recognize that it is at a turning point in the conventional army strategy. At the AUSA (Army Annual Meeting) on October 11, 2021, Secretary of the Army Warmas said the same. The main reasons at the turning point are "(1) the possibility that the continental United States will be attacked," "(2) operations in situations where air superiority cannot be obtained," and "(3) there is no time to spend on power projection." ..
① is probably not much that the Army can do. What will happen to the operation in the situation where the air superiority of ② cannot be obtained? Air superiority is essential in traditional Army operational instruction. As expected, the US military should not be able to fight like the old Japanese army. In ③, by deploying troops in allies and partner countries in advance, the time for power projection will be limited, and preparations will be made to respond immediately to the situation.
concept
(1) Prescribes the transformation of the Army to respond to clear enemies and technological developments, and provides the joint forces with the shooting, speed, and state-of-the-art converging necessary to win the next battle.
(2) Dynamic maneuvering and deployment of army forces under competition break through A2 / AD, and by demonstrating cross-domain effects, provide opportunities and options for deterrence, reduction of escalation, or victory in the opening battle.
Operational concept
[Competition]
〇 Eyes
Gaining relative ability and deployment advantage to achieve political goals
〇 Items to be implemented
・ Army network configuration
・ Show off ability
・ Development of new capabilities
[Crisis]
〇 Eyes
Providing a wide range of response options for reducing the intensity and forming the outcome of the opening battle
〇 Items to be implemented
・ Maintaining contacts in all domains
・ Imposing risk on the interests of the enemy
・ Imposing costs for malicious activities
・ Mission guarantee
・ Sustainable activity within the enemy's A2 / AD
・ Smooth transition to conflict
[Conflict]
〇 Eyes
Enables agile joint forces, secures achievements in all domains, and wins from information warfare to large-scale combat operations.
〇 Items to be implemented
・ Continuation of battle
・ Expansion of the battlefield
・ Backward hit by cross domain
・ Acquisition / maintenance of decision-making superiority
・ Creation of superiority
・ Victory in large-scale battles
The "backward blow" at the conflict stage is a little worrisome. Even if it is said to be rearward, there is a range from inland cities to harbors and airfields that are operational rearward. If the former attacks, a full-scale war will be inevitable, and the battle will turn into a swamp. Therefore, it will basically be limited to the destruction of local military targets by non-physical striking means such as cyber attacks, obstruction of space assets, and tomahawks.
How to fight
〇 Expand the battlefield by "Inside Force" that acts within the enemy A2 / AD range and "Outside Force" that secures important terrain etc. at the strategic / battlefield level (At this time, the inside force is dispersed in front Remaining, hitting and attacking to open the corridor and block the enemy's followers)
〇Maintaining short- to long-range precision firepower to engage and destroy enemy ground, aviation, and maritime forces behind
〇 Securing the freedom of action of the integrated mission unit by the precision firepower unit within the enemy A2 / AD area by MDTF
〇Building a land network (building alliances and relationships with partner countries at the competitive stage)
The Inside Force is probably the following multi-domain task force-based unit. A2 / AD, that is, act within the first island chain, disperse and remain. At the same time, it will support the joint forces with long-range precision firepower. The Army plans to deploy PrSM (1000km range) and intermediate-range missile LRHW (2775km range) in the Nansei Islands and Luzon Island in the Philippines.
The outside force can be taken as a unit other than the inside force. Speaking of the southwest front, is it a unit that prepares for a large-scale land operation after that while deploying to islands and countries south of the second island chain and providing logistical support?
Multi-domain task force (MDTF)
〇 It is the core unit that carries out multi-domain operations and is the center of modernization.
〇 MDTF, as a theater-level mobile unit, synchronizes accurate effects and precision firepower in all domains with the A2 / AD network, ensuring freedom of action for integrated units.
〇 Arrange according to the request of the commander of the integrated unit.
* MDTF was deployed in the US mainland around 2017 and participated in various exercises to build its capabilities. The MDTF is said to deploy the first in the US mainland, the second in the summer of 2021, Europe (Germany), the third in the Indo-Pacific region in 2022, and the fourth in the Arctic.
MDTF has not been deployed in the Indo-Pacific as of November 2021. In the past, there was information such as wanting to deploy it in Japan in 2021, but it has not been realized yet. In any case, if it is not deployed in the Nansei Islands, the entire Army operation will not be possible. I don't know if a new US military base will be built or if it will be shared with the Self-Defense Forces, but it's only a matter of time.
