Fusing Airpower and Land Power in the Twenty-First Century: Insights from the Army after Next
Abstract
The U.S. Army's "Army after Next" (AAN) project recently concluded the second of its annual tactical/ operational-level war games (TWG). The AAN TWG, a vital part of the Army's future warfare laboratory, provides a tool for evaluating and refining AAN tactical and operational concepts. The AAN's exploration of future warfare thus far suggests that a number of nascent technologies will present opportunities as well as challenges for the cooperation of air, land, sea, and space systems in the 21st century. For example, by 2020, precision weapon systems will have so expanded in range that the tactical deadly zone may extend to 200 kilometers. This zone may include not only precision and area-fire weapons located in urban centers and other complex terrain, but also space-based lasers, satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, and a host of electronic weaponry. One can achieve a fairly formidable defense-in-depth, for instance, by positioning such systems in a manner that ensures interlocking fires throughout the depth of the defensive zone. What tomorrow's maneuver forces may encounter, therefore, is a World War I style defense with interlocking fires but on a much larger horizontal and vertical scale. Indeed, the state of internetted information systems by 2025 will make activating such a defense much easier. One may also reasonably expect that even relatively poor nations will have the ability to erect some form of this internetted defensive zone. Successful military operations in such an environment will require an exquisite level of precise yet flexible synchronization among land, air, sea, and space systems. This article argues that such synchronization -- particularly as regards the fusing of air power and land power -- is a historical imperative revalidated by insights derived from the AAN's most recent TWG.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA518978
Entities
People
- Antulio J. Echevarria Ii
Organizations
- Air University