Army Futures 'tech cell' anticipates the evolution of war

[Graybeard]

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/army-futures-tech-cell-anticipates-the-evolution-of-war

By Kris Osborn | Warrior Maven

Self-guiding drone swarms, course-correcting ammunition, AI-driven sensor networks, self-healing armor and armies of armed robots are all things expected to characterize warfare for decades to come.

What isn’t expected?

That is the fundamental question now being taken up by an elite unit of scientists with Army Futures Command, a task force of sorts looking at global technological trends, areas of basic research and changing global conditions as indicators of what kinds of unanticipated warfare weapons, tactics and scenarios will emerge in coming decades.

“There is a tech forecasting cell at the Army Research Lab ... not only from a U.S. Tech base but worldwide which looks at where the investments] are being made and where we are going to be in technology in 10 to 15 years,” Gen. John Murray, Commanding General of Army Futures Command, told The National Interest in an interview several months ago.


Weapons technology, while of course quite fundamental to future war, is only part of the equation, according to Murray, who explains that new technologies, systems and circumstances will reshape tactics, formations and maneuver strategies in unexpected ways.


A US soldier from 2-12 Infantry Regiment out of Colorado Springs fires a machine gun at insurgent positions during a firefight on June 22, 2012 in the Pech Valley, Afghanistan - file photo. (Photo by John Cantlie/Getty Images)

“First you figure out the environment and then you figure out what you need to fight in the environment. Concepts should drive material development and S&T should drive concepts too because a big piece of this future operating environment is tech forecasting,” Murray explained.

Some of the expected areas of weapons and technical progress are likely to spur new ones, such as small, smart sniper or rifle rounds with built-in sensors able to steer their own way to moving targets in war. Miniaturization technologies, for instance, represent a progressive technical trajectory such as extremely small sensors, radar systems and guidance mechanisms could conceivably be built into small arms or tiny drones.

Thousands of armed, networked and AI-enabled forward-fighting robots, while operated at safe distances by humans, maybe nearer term than expected given the pace of technical change.


While Murray did not elaborate on too many specifics related to this tech cell, he did address a number of technology trends at great length, often in the context of what a future warfare environment might look like.

Therefore, the assessments look at demographic trends as well, such as rapid urbanization, ubiquitous information sharing and much faster air travel. For instance, one senior Air Force scientist told me as far back as several years ago, that hypersonic drones are expected by 2030 and even recoverable hypersonic drones by 2040.

Tactically speaking, what might this mean? It means that a surveillance or attack mission could find and attack targets continents away, in minutes. Such a technical phenomenon could enable nearly instantaneous attacks and surveillance across the globe, radically changing the pace and character of war.


Perhaps all of these things may help explain why Murray told me that he expects a “hyperactive battlefield in the future.”

-- Kris Osborn is the Managing Editor of Warrior Maven and The Defense Editor of The National Interest

[ironglows]

It is heading that way.  I posted just a few days ago, how being a former tanker, I could
 visualize the oncoming dawn of remote controlled tanks.
  Any future wars will be decided by a nation's technological acuity and the size of it's purse.
  Still, in the final analysis, a war is not "won" until troops occupy the enemy territory, so the infantry may still be the "queen of battle", although smaller in numbers.

[Bob Riebe]

It increases the chance of nuclear weapons being used; EMP would make the digital mostly useless, so nuke air bursts would be the weapon of choice.

Remember the nukes that ADC fighters carried were not designed to destroy the carrier, they were designed to neutralize the nukes they carried.
The EMP it caused had a range of miles way beyond the detonation point; that was the reason the Genie was not a guided weapon.

[ironglows]

It increases the chance of nuclear weapons being used; EMP would make the digital mostly useless, so nuke air bursts would be the weapon of choice.

Remember the nukes that ADC fighters carried were not designed to destroy the carrier, they were designed to neutralize the nukes they carried.
The EMP it caused had a range of miles way beyond the detonation point; that was the reason the Genie was not a guided weapon.

  This points out the great need for the newly launched 'Space Force'.  It also shows the great foresight of president Trump !
  I doubt EMP weapons would be too quickly employed, since retaliation in kind would be all but inevitable, putting not only us, but the whole world into the stone age overnight !

  I can visualize dueling satellites coursing through space, trying to destroy and/or establish GPS, communications etc. on the earth !
  Something Sci-fi movies have featured in recent years !

[Bob Riebe]

This points out the great need for the newly launched 'Space Force'.  It also shows the great foresight of president Trump !
  I doubt EMP weapons would be too quickly employed, since retaliation in kind would be all but inevitable, putting not only us, but the whole world into the stone age overnight !

Do you think China would really care.
If they would be losing due to digital weapons, they would do what ever it took to neutralize those weapons.

Air bursts do no damage on the ground, one burst covers hundreds of miles; if the U.S. retaliated with ground bursts, THEN, it would be a different ball game.

[Lloyd Smale]

totally agree bob. I could see a war that we shoot there drones and they shoot ours and the winner is the richest country that can make the most. Countries like Russia, china and especially korea aren't going to try to compete with use like that. To me it just means more will go into nucellar and biological warfare where they can destroy whole cities or even countries with one shot and at the same time take out our ability to make war on them. Lots of hoopla in the last 10-20 years about smart bombs. Ever notice that we are the about the only ones that are spending money on that! High tech? Very expensive? Yup and Russia china and korea don't care one bit if there bombs create some collateral damage or kill some civilians. Heck they don't even care if its there own people.

It increases the chance of nuclear weapons being used; EMP would make the digital mostly useless, so nuke air bursts would be the weapon of choice.

Remember the nukes that ADC fighters carried were not designed to destroy the carrier, they were designed to neutralize the nukes they carried.
The EMP it caused had a range of miles way beyond the detonation point; that was the reason the Genie was not a guided weapon.

[ironglows]

Some folks have not truly caught on yet! We are already involved in biological warfare !

  The CCP developed their China virus.  When it got loose, they acted immediately in China, they curbed internal travel, began lockdowns, and bought up medical supplies around the globe, planning to profit when the rest of the world got hit.

  Instead of warning the world of the coming plan-demic, they encouraged overseas flights to the far corners of the world, especially concentrating on the USA.

  Fortunately for us, our president caught onto their deadly game early on, and clamped down travel between China & the US !  ...But demented Joe didn't get it, and accused our president of being xenophobic !