Contemplating the Evolution of Ground Force Capabilities
In his book, "The Arms of the Future: Technology and Close Combat in the Twenty-First Century," senior research fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, Jack Watling, provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of emerging technologies on modern warfare. The book offers evidence-based judgments on future force design at a granular level, making it a valuable resource for policymakers and military service force developers.
The book is built upon extensive interviews, experimentation reports, direct observation, and interviews from exercises and contemporary wars. It proposes a force design with four subsystems: manoeuvre, fires, assault, and support.
**Key Findings:**
Watling identifies four essential systems that constitute a modern combined arms formation optimized for future combat. The manoeuvre system focuses on mobility and tactical posture, leveraging autonomous vehicles and enhanced logistics to extend operational reach. The fires system emphasizes the use of networked targeting and precision-guided munitions to deliver powerful strikes at long range. The assault system explores integrating dismounted infantry with robotic systems for close combat, particularly in urban or complex terrain. The support system highlights the importance of resilient supply chains, medical support, and logistics to sustain combat effectiveness in contested environments.
Watling stresses the necessity of robust systems capable of operating in contested environments, pointing to the challenges posed by autonomous weapons, complex sensors, and machine learning. He underscores the critical need for multi-domain integration, linking land forces with air, maritime, cyber, and space capabilities to achieve dominance.
A strategic observation is that countries failing to modernize their armed forces risk losing the ability to project power and protect their interests. This modernization is not just technological but requires doctrinal adaptations. Allied cooperation and resource pooling are strongly recommended to accelerate technological development and deployment, preventing fragmented capabilities and ensuring collective security.
**Recommendations on US Defense Priorities and Force Design:**
The US should prioritize developing and integrating the four key combined arms systems, particularly focusing on the synergy between human soldiers and autonomous systems to maintain effectiveness in close combat. Emphasis on networked precision fires and enhancing operational reach through new logistics and autonomous systems is vital. US defense strategy needs to embrace a multi-domain approach that coordinates land, air, sea, cyber, and space forces to maintain a decisive advantage over adversaries.
Robustness and resilience in combat support and logistics systems are critical to sustain operations in contested and complex environments. Strong alliances and cooperative technological development should be a cornerstone of US defense policy to leverage shared innovations and capabilities.
Overall, Watling’s analysis suggests that future US force design must be versatile, highly integrated across domains, and technologically adaptive, balancing advanced systems with the realities of close combat. This approach will enable the US to maintain military effectiveness against sophisticated adversaries in the evolving operational landscape.
It's worth noting that the views expressed in "The Arms of the Future" do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. However, Dr. Frank Hoffman, a distinguished research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, finds the proposals in "The Arms of the Future" actionable and timely.
The ongoing debate in the US military establishment about the changing character of war is discussed in the book, with the author arguing against the idea that drones and AI will dictate future warfare, suggesting a more holistic conception of combined arms that includes the exploitation and countering of unmanned platforms. The book offers insights into ongoing changes in the character of warfare, drawing upon trends and prudent extrapolations.
The book is highly relevant to American defense requirements, particularly in conventional warfare, but may not delve deeply into unconventional requirements and the special operations community. The author appreciates the need to adapt the role of tanks in future warfare, advocating for mobile, protected lethality with an emphasis on active protection systems.
In conclusion, "The Arms of the Future" provides a thought-provoking and well-researched perspective on the future of land combat capabilities in the US military, offering actionable insights for policymakers and military service force developers.
- The author emphasizes the importance of integrating dismounted infantry with robotic systems in urban or complex terrain, highlighting the assault system as a key focus area for future combat.
- The book advocates for a balanced approach in military force design, suggesting the synergy between human soldiers and autonomous systems to maintain effectiveness in close combat.
- In his analysis, Watling stresses the need for robust systems capable of operating in contested environments, underscoring the challenges posed by emerging technologies like autonomous weapons, complex sensors, and machine learning.
- The US should prioritize developing and coordinating land, air, sea, cyber, and space forces to maintain a decisive advantage over adversaries, as per the recommendations on US defense priorities and force design.
- The author discusses the changing character of warfare, arguing against the idea that drones and AI will dictate future warfare, and instead proposing a more holistic conception of combined arms that includes the exploitation and countering of unmanned platforms.
