Multi-Domain Battle Evolution of Combined Arms for the 21st Century 2025-2040 Version 1 0 October 2017 DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTION DRAFT - NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Approved for public release The material in this publication is still under development It is not an approved concept and cannot be used for reference or citation until it has been approved NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION This page intentionally blank Mu ti-Domain Battle Objectives 1 Compete short of war 2 Turn denied spaces into contested spaces 3 Defeat enemy campaign 4 Consolidate gains Figure 1 Multi-Domain Battle Logic Chart Operating Environment and the Expanded Battiespace Changes In the Operational Environment Expanded Battlespace - Contested in all domains - Time achieve strategic aims below threshold of war in Phases 0 1 - Increased lethality across the battlespace - Domains integrate cyberspace space with other domains - Complex environment actors dense urban terrain information WMD technology partners - Geography local to intercontinental no safe havens - Challenged deterrence operate below threshold ofwar use of anti access area denial - Actors proxies surrogates and non state Peer adversaries have adapted to separate and defeat U S Joint forces and partners Competition Armed Con ict Return to Competition Destabilize partners and allies separate US Separate Joint Force strategically across distances with - Reach negotiated settlement on and alliances politically lSR strike UW IW favorable terms to adversary - Penetrate and reconnoiter friendly systems - Separate Joint Force operationally in time and space - Destabilize partners occupy and defend - Support and enable information warfare lWl with lSR strike UW Cyber IAD systems any occupied areas with unconventional warfare UW Separate the Joint Force tactically by isolating and - Foment insurgencies and reinforce with Reinforce UW and IW and set conditions for defeating forces with lSR strike EW IADS and operations 'fait accompli' campaign with Conventional Achieve strategic objectives rapidly before the Joint - Extend regional influence separate US capabilities Force responds effectively and allies politically - Consolidate gains set defenses and require Joint Forces to attack at very high cost Multi-Domain Battle problems How do US forces deter the escalation ofviolence defeat adversary operations to destabilize the region and turn denied spaces into contested spaces should violence escalate How do US forces maneuver from contested strategic and operational distances and with sufficient combat power intime to defeat enemy forces How do US forces conduct deep maneuver by air naval andior ground forcesto suppress and destroy enemy indirect fire and air defense systems and reserve forces How do US forces enable ground forcesto defeat the enemy in the close area How do US forces consolidate gains and produce sustainable outcomes set conditions for long term deterrence and adapt to the new security environment Components of the solution 1 Calibrate Force Posture 2 Employ Resilient Formations 3 Converge Capabi ties - Prepare the environment - Conduct semi independent cross-domain maneuver - Create windows ofadvantage - Compete deter and immediately challenge the - Conduct expeditionary maneuver from the US homeland - Enable crossdomain maneuver adversary's anti accessfarea denial system directly to battle areas and fight immediately - Create and exploit opportunities achieve - Conduct expeditionary maneuver from US in days - Execute mission command technically and philosophically objectives create dilemmas or dislocate and - Integrate and enable partner forces - Provide protection and sustainment to operate forlong defeat enemy systems periods with little support - Achieve the friendly operational endstate and - Enable other Joint Forces from land to dislocate and defeat the adversary's campaign defeat enemy systems A ppiy components of the soiution in competition and armed con ict to Armed Con ict Return to Competition Compete to position of advantage - Seize the initiative immediately with forward forces - Compete with adversary in all domains Contest aggression challenge enemy's AQAD from capab as already inside Contest the adversary and SUPPOW Deter conventional attacks Maneuver through contested areas directly to the to subverswe elements Be ready to immediately turn denied spaces into battlefield fight from operational and strategic distances and when I equfed defeat latitaCkS contested spaces - Achieve friendly operational endstate defeat enemy's partner capabilities and campaign plan immediately return to competition capacities strengthen alliances Competition Compete continuaiiy When required win in war Then return to competing NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION in this way US interests remain secured in an increasingiy compiex worid DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Contents Page Chapter 1 Introduction………………………………………………………………… ……………… …1 1-1 Purpose……………………………………………………………… …………… … …1 1-2 Why is a new concept required ………………………………… … …………… … … 1 1-3 Introduction of key ideas …………………………………………… …………… … …2 Chapter 2 Operational Context……………………………………………………… ……………… … 4 2-1 The emerging operating environment… ………………………… ……………… 4 2-2 The changing battlespace ………………………………… … …………………… …6 2-3 Multi-Domain Battle operational framework ……… …………… 8 2-4 Primary adversary systems to compete below the level of armed conflict…………… 12 2-5 Primary enemy systems and methods for armed conflict… ……………… …… …… 15 2-6 Enemy systems and methods to deny decisive U S victory or an unfavorable political outcome… … ……………………… ………………………………… …19 2-7 Problems in the “new” battlespace… …………… ………………… ……………… 20 Chapter 3 The military problem and Multi-Domain Battle central idea…… ……………… ……… 21 3-1 Military problem ……………………………………………… …………………… 21 3-2 Central idea…………………………………………………… …………………… … 21 3-3 Components and subcomponents of the solution…… ……………………………… 23 3-4 Defeat the adversary’s aggression in competition ……………… ……… ……… 29 3-5 Defeat the enemy in armed conflict………… … ……………………………… … … 36 3-6 Return to competition to maintain a favorable position ………………………… … … 46 Chapter 4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………… … … 48 Appendix A – References…………………………… ……………………………… … 49 Appendix B – Key required capabilities and supporting actions…………… ………… … … 52 Appendix C – Multi-Domain Battle supporting ideas……… ………………… …………… 61 Appendix D – Assumptions…………………………………………………………………… 64 Appendix E – Linkage to other concepts……………………………………………… ……… 65 Appendix F – Future study issues ……………………………………………………… …… 67 Glossary……………………………………………………………………………………… 71 ii DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Figure List Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Page Multi-Domain Battle Logic Chart ………………………………………………… i The Multi-Domain Battle Operational Framework… ……………… …………… 9 Adversary Enemy Integrated Systems and Sub-systems…………………………… 12 Adversary Military Systems in Competition…………………… ……………………13 Enemy Military Systems in Armed Conflict…………… ……………………………16 Problems on the “New” Battlespace… ……………………………………………… 21 Convergence………………………………………………………………………… 27 iii DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Chapter 1 Introduction 1-1 Purpose Multi-Domain Battle The Evolution of Combined Arms for the 21st Century describes how U S ground forces as part of the Joint Force and with partners will operate fight and campaign successfully across all domains—space cyberspace air land maritime—against peer adversaries in the 2025-2040 timeframe 1 Multi-Domain Battle is an operational concept with strategic and tactical implications It deliberately focuses on increasingly capable adversaries who challenge deterrence and pose strategic risk to U S interests in two ways First in operations below armed conflict these adversaries employ systems to achieve their strategic ends over time to avoid war and the traditional operating methods of the Joint Force Second if these adversaries choose to wage a military campaign they employ integrated systems that contest and separate Joint Force capabilities simultaneously in all domains at extended ranges to make a friendly response prohibitively risky or irrelevant In this context the Multi-Domain Battle concept describes how U S and partner forces organize practice and employ capabilities and methods across domains environments and functions over time and physical space to contest these adversaries in operations below armed conflict and when required defeat them in armed conflict Although it recognizes the unique capabilities and roles of the Services the concept seeks a common and interoperable capability development effort to provide Joint Force Commanders complementary and resilient forces to prosecute campaigns and further the evolution of combined arms for the 21st Century 2 1-2 Why is a new concept required Since the end of the Cold War the Joint Force has enjoyed considerable freedom of action in the air land maritime space and cyberspace domains However an increasing number and range of actors are achieving the ability to further deny or disrupt friendly forces’ access to and action within air maritime space and cyberspace domains from extended distances Their capabilities challenge the Joint Force’s ability to achieve military and political objectives Many of these adversaries also contest U S strategic resolve and commitment to allies and partners because of reduced U S forward presence and decreased Joint Force capabilities and capacities These problems continue to increase as adversaries pursue ways and means to challenge U S forces at greater distances and restrict friendly maneuver across all domains in both operations below armed conflict and in armed conflict The “Multi-Domain Battle” concept was developed to address these issues The concept addresses how the environment and adversaries have changed how adversaries systemically intend to accomplish their strategic ends the specific problems adversaries pose to the Joint Force and partners and systemic ways to compete with and when necessary defeat those adversaries 1 The joint domains are air land maritime space and cyberspace These threats also contest U S forces in the electromagnetic spectrum the information environment and the cognitive dimension of warfare This document uses the terms “adversary” and “enemy” to refer to these peers respectively in competition and in armed conflict For purposes of this concept the term “ground forces” used to describe friendly forces refers to Army Marine Corps and special operations forces operating in land-centric operations 2 This concept is intended to promote thought and discussion concerning the methods and capabilities required to confront sophisticated adversaries It offers specific hypotheses to inform further concept development wargaming experimentation and capability development 1 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 1-3 Introduction of key ideas The Multi-Domain Battle concept introduces several ideas to address the operational challenges presented by peer adversaries These ideas in many ways are evolutionary and build upon relevant past and present doctrinal practices They however Components of the Solution offer a new holistic approach to align friendly forces’ actions across domains environments and functions in time and Calibrate Force Posture physical spaces to achieve specific purposes in combat as Multi-Domain Battle requires a dynamic mix of forward presence forces and well as before and after combat in competition Within capabilities expeditionary forces and this concept U S forces operationalize Multi-Domain Battle capabilities and partner forces to deter with three interrelated components of the solution and when required to defeat an adversary plan within days calibrating force posture to defeat “hybrid war” and deter 3 adversaries’ “fait accompli” campaigns employing Employ Resilient Formations resilient formations that can operate semi-independently in Multi-Domain Battle demands formations capable of conducting semi-independent the expanded operational area while projecting power into or dispersed mutually supporting crossaccessing all domains and converging capabilities to create domain operations at operational and windows of advantage to enable maneuver 4 Converging tactical levels These scalable and taskorganized units empowered by the capabilities across domains environments and functions at mission command philosophy possess the scale and intensity required to prevail also requires a new the essential protection sustainment and Multi-Domain Battle operational framework to visualize mission command capabilities to operate in lethal contested environments while combined arms that includes all capabilities and integrates retaining the agility to mass capabilities at their application in time and physical space a desired place and time Converge Capabilities a Competition In competition U S forces actively Multi-Domain Battle requires converging campaign to advance or defend national interests without the political and military capabilities – lethal large-scale violence that characterizes armed conflict and nonlethal – across multiple domains in time and space to create windows of Although the idea of competition is not new the current and advantage that enable the Joint Force to future operating environments require a holistic approach to maneuver and achieve objectives exploit campaigning that links activities short of armed conflict with opportunities or create dilemmas for the enemy the execution of armed conflict Peer adversaries compete to separate alliances and defeat partners below the threshold of armed conflict and challenge the traditional metrics of deterrence by conducting operations that make unclear the distinctions between peace and war Friendly military competition activities have two purposes The first deters and defeats threat efforts to accomplish their objectives short of armed conflict while maintaining or improving conditions favorable to U S interests The second creates favorable conditions by demonstrating the ability to turn denied spaces into contested spaces and to seize the initiative should armed conflict commence By conducting a campaign of competition below armed conflict the Joint Force and partners defeat adversary aims below the threshold of armed conflict strengthen alliances and partners deter armed 3 Hybrid war is the combination of operations by a state against one or more other states through non-attributable proxies and methods to destabilize the target state and achieve the aggressor state’s strategic objectives short of war importantly its techniques leverage conventional and attributable capabilities in threatening ways that reinforce the non-attributable efforts A fait accompli campaign is intended to achieve military and political objectives rapidly presenting a fait accompli – a thing accomplished and presumably irreversible – before an allied response can prevent it 4 Semi-independent operations are those friendly operations that either through a commander’s intent or an adversary’s actions are separated for a period of time from traditional control and support measures The idea of semi-independence applies tactically and operationally and best enables friendly forces to exercise initiative in highly contested and degraded environments It also requires the entire force to anticipate enable and support semi-independent operations through command and control systems sustainment protection and medical support and services 2 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION conflict and are postured to fight immediately and win when required The goal during competition is to prevent armed conflict while making conditions more favorable for protecting national interests b Calibrating force posture Force posture is the positioning of capabilities to achieve a purpose While calibrating force posture by itself is not a new idea the cost of penetrating prepared enemy defenses is now too great for current conceptions of forward positioning and expeditionary maneuver to effectively deter adversaries and prevail in armed conflict The Joint Force and partners also now require dynamic force posture to compete with adversaries by creating dilemmas and rapidly exploiting any vulnerabilities rather than reacting to adversary actions This concept provides an understanding of the enemy and options to defeat its systems that informs new requirements for forward positioned and expeditionary forces c Employing resilient formations Resilient formations remain effective despite multiple forms of enemy contact and are cross-domain capable Developing and employing formations that withstand enemy effects is not a new idea The enemy’s ability to fragment the Joint Force by contesting all domains at extended ranges however requires a new understanding of what allows forces to be effective in the future operating environment Formations must maneuver semi-independently without secured flanks constant communications with higher headquarters and continuous lines of communications Formations must also be cross-domain capable projecting and accessing power in all domains in order to present the enemy with multiple dilemmas The intensity of operations and the enemy’s ability to deny or degrade communications require resilient formations to conduct the mission command philosophy and employ new capabilities that express and communicate the integration of capabilities across domains environments and functions over longer time periods and expanded physical spaces d Convergence Convergence is the integration of capabilities across domains environments and functions in time and physical space to achieve a purpose Converging capabilities is a new idea introduced in Multi-Domain Battle as an evolution of combined arms Convergence is the act of applying a combination of capabilities lethal and nonlethal whether within a domain or cross-domain in time and space for a single purpose Friendly forces achieve victory through convergence by employing multiple combinations of cross-domain operations that create physical virtual and cognitive windows of advantage to enable crossdomain maneuver and fires to achieve objectives Unlike integration which the Joint Force does today through a federation of systems and processes convergence requires organizations and elements that are organically organized trained authorized and equipped to access plan sequence and operate together in and across multiple domains at all times not just in conflict 5 Although the ideas within convergence are an evolution of combined arms principles and practices the Joint Force requires significantly new doctrine organizations and capabilities to integrate the full range of capabilities across time and space to create windows of advantage that enable maneuver in contested environments 5 Cross-domain is any action having an effect from one domain to another typically requiring the coordination and release of control by different organizations In the context of the Multi-Domain Battle concept it requires specific planning coordination and execution as opposed to such inherently cross-domain effects as firing a round through the air that eventually returns to the ground 3 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION e Multi-Domain Battle operational framework The operational framework allows commanders to visualize the posture and convergence of capabilities across domains environments and functions required to maneuver Technological developments and the integration of a wider variety of capabilities into operations along with increased adversary capabilities drive the requirement for a new operational framework to succinctly describe the operating environment and organize friendly operations The operational framework is a visualization tool that enables commanders to position and converge capabilities to produce windows of advantage that enable freedom of maneuver to defeat enemy systems and achieve friendly objectives outright As outlined in section 2-3 the operational framework accounts for the extended ranges and complex relationships of all friendly and enemy capabilities across domains and levels of command tactical operational and strategic Chapter 2 Operational Context Joint forces face a rapidly evolving operating environment in which highly adaptive and innovative adversaries have altered the battlespace and created resilient systems to support their strategies The environment continues to change in four fundamental and interrelated ways adversaries challenge U S forces in all domains the battlespace is becoming more lethal operational complexity is increasing globally and deterring aggressive acts is becoming more challenging Both adapting to and driving change in the operating environment adversaries continue to alter the battlespace in terms of time geography and domains and by blurring the distinctions between peace and war 6 These changes combined with integrated systems that enable the convergence of capabilities in competition as well as armed conflict compress the battlespace for U S commanders in two ways tactically by bringing lethal and nonlethal effects to bear from any place in the world and strategically by being able to challenge the deployment and echeloning of forces into the fight at all places simultaneously 7 Adversaries do this by fielding resilient capable and mutually supporting systems before during and after conflict The following paragraphs present a detailed examination of the aspects that will enable U S forces to identify critical vulnerabilities in an adversary’s systems and determine the problems the Multi-Domain Battle concept must solve 2-1 The emerging operating environment Studies of the future security environment describe a future in which the U S is confronted by challenges related to contested norms and persistent disorder 8 Competitor states and some powerful non-state actors will increasingly challenge the rules that underpin the current global order Meanwhile fragile states will become increasingly incapable of maintaining order Over time these two overarching security challenges suggest four major changes to the operating 6 The Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning describes that the U S will always be either in competition or armed conflict against these adversaries 7 Echeloning or echelonment refers to maneuver of forces from the Strategic and Operational Support Areas into the Tactical Support Area and Close Area These areas are described in the Multi-Domain Battle operational framework discussion in section 2-3 8 Contested norms involve increasingly powerful revisionist states and select non-state actors using all elements of power to establish their own set of rules unfavorable to the U S and its interests Persistent disorder is characterized by an array of weak states that become increasingly incapable of maintaining domestic order or good governance Publications supporting this assessment include the Joint Operating Environment 2035 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U S Intelligence Community Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Feb 2016 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2015 Annual Report to Congress and RAND The Challenges of the “Now” and Their Implications for the U S Army 4 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION environment that require adaptation by U S forces in order to operate successfully and win in future conflicts a Contested in all domains Peer adversaries have invested in and deployed capabilities to challenge and fracture the employment of the Joint Force across all domains As a result these adversaries will increasingly be able to both contest deployments from strategic and operational distances and to deny access by friendly forces with both lethal and nonlethal means Closer to the potential battle area capable peer adversaries can impede Joint Force freedom of movement and action across all domains the electromagnetic spectrum EMS and the information environment and actively influence human perceptions against U S interests which further fracture Joint Force capabilities In competition these adversaries will also employ sophisticated combinations of combined arms that include the use of space and cyberspace operations economic influence political shaping information warfare and lawfare to control the escalation and de-escalation of crises in ways that undermine U S influence and delay U S reaction times 9 Taken together peer adversaries and enemies can contest U S forces in all domains with increasing effectiveness b Increased lethality across the operational area The growing capability and capacity of the adversaries’ weapon systems will increase lethality throughout the operational area and across domains and challenge Joint Force capabilities to create overmatch Adversaries will employ advanced technologies to disrupt the Joint Force’s ability to integrate across domains across functions and with partners These adversaries have the capability to locate U S and allied forces and quickly target them throughout the depth of the battlespace Adversaries will routinely integrate sensors spies special operations assets unmanned aerial systems and spacebased imagery at strategic and operational depth to form a sophisticated intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ISR network When an adversary pairs the ISR network with highly capable fires systems as an ISR-strike system it can locate track target and attack U S and allied forces from the continental U S all the way to the theater of operations No matter the means of detection unmanaged signatures will become a critical U S vulnerability because the adversary’s forces will increasingly possess the ability to find and attack U S and allied forces at strategic operational and tactical distances simultaneously In addition adversaries continue to acquire technologies and develop capabilities potentially superior to U S forces’ capabilities e g robotics autonomous systems nano-explosives and artificial intelligence Notably adversaries empowered by additive manufacturing will be able to mass produce these capabilities to overwhelm U S forces The capability and capacity of adversaries to bring lethal effects to bear will alter the U S ’s strategic and operational calculus in new ways c Complex environment Six variables will challenge the Joint Force and its partners’ ability to anticipate and adapt to change First accelerating information and technology developments are increasing the pace of change and allowing adversaries to leverage superior capabilities that could have unexpected effects on future friendly force operations Second adversaries will increase complexity by combining regular and irregular forces with criminal and terrorist enterprises to attack the Joint Force’s vulnerabilities while avoiding its strengths The adaptability of these hybrid strategies will make them difficult to counter particularly when 9 Lawfare is defined as a strategy of using—or misusing—law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective 5 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION friendly forces are constrained by policy restrictions in peacetime Third densely populated areas with constricting topography and poor infrastructure will make friendly vehicular and aerial movement more observable and easily disrupted for forces operating from or into these places Urban areas will also challenge the ability of U S forces to operate cohesively resupply communicate conduct reconnaissance and achieve surprise Fourth globally networked and information-enabled populations will react to viral versions of events and ideas moving at the speed of the internet complicating the ability to gain and maintain an accurate up-to-date intelligence-driven understanding of the situation as well as control of the information environment Fifth adversaries including super-empowered individuals and small groups use access to cyberspace space and nuclear biological radiological and chemical weapons of mass effects to change the battlespace calculus and redefine the conditions of conflict resolution 10 Finally the well-established need for U S forces to operate with joint interorganizational and multinational partners also presents challenges in this increasingly complex environment Taking advantage of this complexity adversaries have demonstrated abilities to operate in these environments especially in the regions surrounding their homelands d Challenged deterrence 11 Adversaries present two main challenges to U S military deterrence First adversaries can and will operate with and through proxies and surrogates artfully employing all elements of national power to achieve their strategic objectives below the threshold of armed conflict Subversion information warfare and unconventional warfare UW are inherently difficult to attribute and subsequently to punish the originator and therefore almost impossible to deter The Joint Force is not optimized to contest these threats Second adversaries seek to deter U S and combined forces through the use of sophisticated all-domain anti-access and area denial A2 AD capabilities that would impose significant losses on friendly forces 12 If not challenged these A2 AD capabilities will delay deployment and employment of expeditionary forces simultaneously across strategic and operational distances In this environment adversary operational systems can exploit existing U S weaknesses such as force deployment responsiveness due to time and distance vulnerabilities in the homeland and partner nations such as fixed bases ports and domestic populations and fragmentation of the Joint Force by specialized function The ability to delay the deployment of forces may enable an adversary to take rapid decisive action and consolidate gains before U S and allied forces can respond with sufficient forces to prevent or challenge it The increasing ability to challenge U S deterrence reflects how adversaries have changed the battlespace 2-2 The changing battlespace a The changing operating environment rapidly evolving technologies and adversaries’ adaptations to them produce three important effects on current and future battlespaces that 10 Super-empowered individuals and small groups are “wild cards” that may be leveraged by a peer adversary act independently on behalf of a peer adversary or work to their own separate goals 11 Challenged deterrence refers to the effectiveness of U S conventional deterrence being put into question both by the adversary’s use of actions below the threshold of conflict to achieve strategic aims and by the adversary’s potential ability to conduct aggressive actions and consolidate gains rapidly before the U S and allies can respond 12 Peer adversaries aspire to establish impenetrable defensive zones with “anti-access A2 area denial AD ” capabilities Although these integrated defenses are indeed vulnerable to interdiction and dismantling individual components and platforms that make up these integrated defenses – such as anti-ship and land-attack ballistic and cruise missiles submarines and advanced air defenses – represent significant threats to air land and maritime forces and must be addressed 6 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION demand a new approach to Joint Force operations Previous frameworks led commanders and force developers to visualize a battlespace compartmentalized in time over geographic space and by function or domain These frameworks did not link activities below armed conflict with activities within armed conflict and instead primarily focused attention on a battlespace measured in hundreds of kilometers rather than one spanning multiple interrelated theaters The operating environment described above requires changing the operational framework because of how the battlespace is expanded converged and compressed b Expanded Adversaries have expanded the battlespace in four ways time phases domains geography space and depth and actors In terms of time adversaries have blurred the distinction between actions “below armed conflict” and “conflict ” enabling the achievement of strategic military objectives short of what the U S traditionally considers “war ” They have expanded the battlespace by making space cyberspace electronic warfare and information key components of their operations They have expanded the battlespace geographically because the effects of space cyberspace electronic warfare EW information and even conventional weapons with increasing ranges are less bound by geographic and time constraints and place all forces regardless of disposition “in contact ” Finally they have expanded the battlespace by increasing the number of actors using proxies and surrogates and making conflicts transregional Although they have expanded the battlespace from a U S and allied perspective adversaries also continue to improve ways to converge capabilities to greater effect c Converged Adversaries use both technology and centralized political and military systems to converge capabilities in new ways to achieve objectives in time and space The converged battlespace is a product of the adversary’s ability to integrate capabilities across many domains environments and functions in time to achieve effects at any geographic location In competition convergence involves the detailed and consistent integration of reconnaissance unconventional warfare information warfare and conventional capabilities that achieve the adversary’s strategic aims short of armed conflict Convergence in competition however also includes the ability for an adversary to immediately turn globally common or friendly sovereign territory into “denied” areas 13 This capability preserves the initiative to transition rapidly to armed conflict at a time of its choosing seize strategic objectives and consolidate gains Having achieved its strategic gains either through subversion or armed conflict the adversary retains the ability to converge lethal and nonlethal capabilities to defend against potential U S and allied counterattacks in ways that compress the battlespace for the Joint Force and its partners d Compressed The ability of adversaries to both expand the battlespace and converge capabilities compresses the strategic operational and tactical levels of war for Joint Force and allied commanders At the tactical level this compression compels the Joint Force and partners to defend against attacks from virtually anywhere in the world At the operational and strategic levels this compression impedes the effectiveness of Joint Force and allied commanders’ attempts to deploy and echelon forces enabling the enemy to isolate and tactically defeat friendly forward positioned forces This strategic-to-tactical compression is a result of adversaries’ extended sets of conventional information warfare and unconventional capabilities 13 Global commons are large areas of the globe and beyond that do not and legally cannot belong to any nation i e no political sovereignty including most of the oceans and their resources Antarctica Earth's atmosphere outer space and the Moon and other natural objects in space 7 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION that place friendly formations at risk from multiple systems both lethal and nonlethal operating in dispersed locations often outside the range of the friendly formation’s systems and authority Adversaries or hostile forces will seek to present multiple forms of contact simultaneously to friendly forces in many domains and locations This compression shortens friendly commanders’ decision cycles and severely inhibits the Joint Force’s ability to identify maneuver on and isolate adversary capabilities geographically functionally or by domain Understanding how adversaries create compression through integrated systems in competition and armed conflict is essential to determining the military problems Multi-Domain Battle must address 2-3 Multi-Domain Battle operational framework a The operating environment threats and problems envisioned in Multi-Domain Battle demand a framework that brings order to the complexities of a multi-domain environment Because peer rivals contest and can deny all domains at extended distances the current definitions of Deep Close and Support Areas are no longer adequate Current and anticipated future problems exceed what could be assigned within a single area of operations under the current Joint operational framework The Multi-Domain Battle operational framework must also account for all domains extending to space and cyberspace as well as the electromagnetic spectrum and information environment because activities in these domains across time produce tactical operational and strategic effects not captured by the Deep Close Support framework An expanded multi-domain framework allows commanders to arrange operations in the emerging operating environment The Multi-Domain Battle operational framework see Figure 2 provides an expanded physical framework from which to reference actions across all domains conducted by the Joint Force partners adversaries and enemies b Since the Multi-Domain Battle framework is operational it is also grounded in physical spaces Abstract aspects more evident in some domains are also grounded physically despite their predominantly immaterial presentations At some point all the abstract elements cognitive virtual informational and human demonstrate their effects physically at a place or in an area through a system or people Representing these elements in a physically based framework clarifies an already very complex multi-domain operating environment for commanders and staffs The following description of the framework places all friendly and enemy activities and physical locations in categories of physical space as the fundamental visualization layer c The areas in the Multi-Domain Battle operational framework are defined by the mixture of capabilities both friendly and enemy available for use within each area Multi-Domain Battle takes a different form in each area because the two contending sides have a different mixture of capabilities available for competing and fighting Because of the expanded battlespace in which actions in one area can influence another the breadth of the battlespace needs to be placed within a single simple framework to illustrate these sometimes complex relationships Though depicted geometrically for simplicity the areas within the framework are not defined by geographic space or relationships In some theaters for example a Deep Maneuver Area could be physically adjacent to an Operational Support Area due to the types of capabilities available to each side The complementary nature of unique and interoperable Service capabilities 8 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION provides the Joint Force multiple options to maneuver in areas inaccessible to single-Service and single-domain solutions Previous depictions of the battlespace did not capture the full range of places and times that friendly and enemy capabilities interact in the current and future operating environment This increased number of battlespace areas expansion in geographic area and extended time horizons are new features of Multi-Domain Battle Figure 2 The Multi-Domain Battle Operational Framework d Multi-Domain Battle operational framework components 1 Deep Fires Areas These areas are defined as the area beyond the feasible range of movement for conventional forces but where joint fires special operations forces SOF information and virtual capabilities can be employed Operational and Strategic Deep Fires Areas are differentiated by the types of capabilities that can or are authorized to operate in each area These areas are either too far beyond operational reach for conventional maneuver forces to enter or they are prohibited by policy such as an international border 14 Therefore operations in the Deep Fires Areas are limited to whatever physical and virtual capabilities are permitted by law or policy and that can operate in the heart of enemy defenses This limited accessibility and the inherent difficulty of operating deep within enemy territory place a premium on the ability to combine and employ whatever capabilities are available from across all domains 2 Deep Maneuver Area This area is the highly contested area where conventional maneuver ground or maritime is possible but requires significant support from multi-domain capabilities commanders must make a concerted effort to “break into” the Deep Maneuver Area Because more friendly capabilities possess the range and survivability to influence or operate within this space than in the Deep Fires Areas and because commanders can take advantage of 14 In cases where policy restrictions create a Deep Fires Areas the areas might be geographically non-contiguous For instance in a counterinsurgency campaign the Joint Force might have full freedom of action within the host country but is allowed to use only virtual capabilities against the enemy sanctuary in a neighboring country In that instance the international border would represent the boundary between Close and Deep Fire Areas 9 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION the combination of fire and movement there are many more options for Joint Force employment than in the Deep Fires Areas Moreover the persistence of ground and maritime maneuver forces allows operations to persist for far longer than in the Deep Fires Areas where effects will often be more transitory In most anticipated campaign designs many operational objectives are in the Deep Maneuver Area 3 Close Area The Close Area is where friendly and enemy formations forces and systems are in imminent physical contact and will contest for control of physical space in support of campaign objectives The Close Area includes land maritime littorals and the airspace over these areas The new operating environment and improved enemy and friendly capabilities have expanded the Close Area Operations in the Close Area require tempo and mobility in order to overcome these enemy capabilities through sufficiently integrated and concentrated combat power at the critical time and place Characteristics of the Close Area present challenges to integrating cross-domain capabilities because of the reduced time available to access and employ enablers such as centrally controlled low-density capabilities Commanders employ capabilities from all domains organic and external in the Close Area to generate complementary effects of combined arms but speed of action coordination and synchronization of effects place a premium on organic capabilities Operations in the Close Area are designed to create windows of advantage for maneuver to defeat enemy forces disrupt enemy capabilities physically control spaces and protect and influence populations 4 Support Areas Collectively the Support Areas represent that space in which the Joint Force seeks to retain maximum freedom of action speed and agility and to counter the enemy’s multi-domain efforts to attack friendly forces infrastructure and populations The nature of these threats varies with the adversary though with current technology virtually all adversaries will have reach into the homeland for example through cyberspace information warfare agents sympathizers and space even if only by using social media to undermine public support and encourage “lone-wolf attacks ” The reach of regional powers is also growing and the most potent adversaries already possess multiple advanced cyberspace space and physical capabilities air naval special operations and or missile forces that can contest the friendly rear areas at all times Though enemy capabilities will vary with the situation a common requirement will be the need to ensure that responsibilities resources and authorities are properly aligned among echelons functions and political organizations Consequently the Support Areas are divided according to friendly and enemy capabilities typically operating in each area a The Strategic Support Area This area is the area of cross-Combatant Command coordination strategic sea and air lines of communications and the homeland Most friendly nuclear space and cyberspace capabilities and important network infrastructure are controlled and located in the Strategic Support Area Joint logistics and sustainment functions required to support Multi-Domain Battle campaigning throughout competition and armed conflict emanate from the Strategic Support Area The enemy will attack the Strategic Support Area to disrupt and degrade deployments and reinforcements attempting to gain access to the Operational Support Area and move to the Close Area taking advantage of the reach of strategic lethal and nonlethal weapons as well as UW reconnaissance and strikes Enemy engagements in the 10 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Strategic Support Area will drive a rapid tempo of friendly operations in other areas to seek decision and limit enemy options for escalation b The Operational Support Area This is the area where many key Joint Force command and control C2 sustainment and fires strike capabilities are located these can be land or sea-based This area normally encompasses many entire nations thus making the Operational Support Area an important space for friendly political-military integration Due to the political and military importance of the Operational Support Area the enemy targets this area with substantial reconnaissance information warfare and operational fires capabilities Friendly units maneuvering in the Operational Support Area therefore are never out of contact The Joint Force will enable friendly operations in this area by dedicating significant capacity during armed conflict to open windows of advantage in the Operational Support Area that enable friendly operations c The Tactical Support Area This is the area that directly enables operations in the Close Deep Maneuver and Deep Fires Areas Many friendly sustainment fires maneuver support and C2 capabilities are in the Tactical Support Area The enemy directs information warfare UW tactical fires maneuver forces and even operational fires at friendly forces populations and civil authorities in the Tactical Support Area Friendly units in the Tactical Support Area must be prepared to endure threat fires and defeat enemy ground force infiltration through and penetrations of the Close Area Mobility and survivability are key requirements for friendly forces operating in or rapidly transiting this area e As illustrated above understanding the interaction between friendly and enemy capabilities is essential to understanding the Multi-Domain Battle operational framework Current friendly methods and capabilities are optimized for a more narrowly defined battlespace in which friendly forces could assume relative superiority in almost all domains and have the luxury of isolating the enemy The methods and capabilities required to execute Multi-Domain Battle in the new operating environment are described further in Chapter 3 and Appendix B respectively On the other hand over the past 25 years enemy capabilities have evolved into integrated systems that deliberately affect friendly operations throughout the battlespace and in both competition and armed conflict These enemy systems are depicted in Figure 3 and described in greater detail in the remainder of Chapter 2 11 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Figure 3 Adversary Enemy Integrated Systems and Sub-systems 15 2-4 Primary adversary systems to compete below the level of armed conflict a In competition the adversary takes actions to achieve objectives below the level of armed conflict as well as to posture forces to support the escalation of activity into armed conflict In competition the adversary’s primary aim is to separate or isolate friendly forces politically limiting a coordinated allied response and destabilizing target states internally to attain its objectives below the threshold for armed conflict The adversary in competition may consider itself already engaged in national conflict and therefore employ all elements of its national power with few procedural limitations in a coordinated approach before the Joint Force receives authorization to use force The adversary also positions systems to fragment Joint Force capabilities and make a potential U S response costly and ineffective in the event of escalation b The adversary’s actions to achieve objectives below armed conflict are often colloquially known as operations in the “gray zone ” and include overt and covert pressure meant to coerce concessions destabilize a region or win strategic outcomes outright 16 This approach uses a flexible system intentionally designed to avoid a single point of vulnerability and to appear ambiguous The adversary converges military and non-military capabilities through four interrelated systems – reconnaissance unconventional warfare UW information warfare IW and conventional forces – and over time across areas and in purpose to fracture alliances and isolate targets which may also create conditions for a fait accompli military campaign 17 Figure 4 depicts how adversary systems are employed across the Multi-Domain Battle operational framework 15 This concept describes the threat activities broken out in competition armed conflict and return to competition Enemy aircraft are considered components of the ISR-strike system interdiction and close air support and the integrated air defense system air-to-air 16 The “gray zone” is an area between traditional norms of peace and conflict characterized by intense political economic informational and military competition more fervent in nature than normal steady-state diplomacy yet short of conventional war Derived from Unconventional Warfare in the Gray Zone by Joseph L Votel Charles T Cleveland Charles T Connett and Will Irwin National Defense University Press http smallwarsjournal com blog unconventional-warfare-in-the-gray-zone 17 For purposes of this concept adversary and enemy information warfare operations will be referred to with the acronym IW to avoid confusion any usage of the term “irregular warfare” will be spelled out 12 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Figure 4 Adversary Military Systems in Competition 1 Reconnaissance The adversary’s ISR assets to include national-level human and technical reconnaissance assets detect political military and technological weak points in friendly systems over time Its reconnaissance is active in all friendly geographic areas from adjoining states regional allies and the U S homeland and against most capabilities especially those that enable rapid response to escalation The adversary’s conventional force posture UW activities and IW operations to include cyber-attacks enable and are enabled by reconnaissance activities The adversary’s reconnaissance however is vulnerable to deception technical penetration and counter-espionage 2 Unconventional warfare The adversary’s SOF local paramilitaries proxy forces and activists conduct UW in the Close and Support Areas to destabilize target governments or to separate the government’s control from a certain region or population In the Close Area adversary UW activities in competition become increasingly overt by coercing opposition and establishing de facto control over terrain including littorals and populations while setting conditions for potential denial or conventional force operations In the Close and Support Areas adversary UW activities in person and over the internet empower proxies and sympathetic networks to conduct a range of operations including terrorism subversion destabilizing criminal activities and direct action strikes The adversary’s execution of UW however involves risk as overly aggressive actions may create vulnerabilities in the information environment and with the populace in ways friendly forces and governments can exploit When prepared and well supported partner nation security forces can capitalize on an adversary’s vulnerabilities and overmatch its paramilitaries and proxies in the Close Area during competition 3 Information warfare The adversary’s information warfare campaign is closely integrated with and supported by reconnaissance UW and conventional force activities to create a believable “facts on the ground” narrative for domestic and foreign audiences 18 The 18 An IW or information environment operation for friendly usage campaign employs various information-related capabilities working together toward a common strategic or operational objective 13 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION adversary conducts IW via media sources cyberspace assets diplomats and leaders to control narratives and influence or shape opinions regionally and globally including its domestic audiences to set the pretext for future operations With increasing frequency adversaries conduct cyber-attacks on civil targets in the Support Area to affect friendly decision making In addition the adversary’s IW efforts seek to undermine friendly security cooperation activities and forces Since the adversary’s IW operations in competition often operate under centralized guidance with limited coordinating measures it is vulnerable to a changing environment when the narrative cannot be integrated with the other functions and are shown to not reflect actions on the ground Adversaries recognize this and seek to generate a flood of messages without regard for the truth in order to confuse disrupt and divert debate about their actions This information “maneuver” creates sufficient ambiguity so that the friendly coalition is unable to take action This flood of misinformation and disinformation is in essence a fixing maneuver 4 Conventional forces The adversary’s conventional forces use training exercises and other activities as a pretext to reinforce adversary UW operations in the Close Area as well as reinforce adversary IW narratives in the Support Areas Conventional force actions also test friendly responses in order to generate enhanced reconnaissance and intelligence collection opportunities The adversary’s conventional forces in competition however attempt to keep support of SOF proxy forces and paramilitaries below a level that signals overt participation while developing asymmetric capabilities to challenge friendly force operations c In many respects the adversary’s actions to posture its forces for an escalation to armed conflict resemble operations to achieve objectives below the level of armed conflict Actions to posture forces for armed conflict include the deployment of naval assets to forward offensive and defensive positions land- and sea-based deployment and supply of integrated air defense systems IADS surface-to-surface missile SSM batteries and strike aircraft deployment and posturing of terrestrial and on-orbit counter-space capabilities activation of clandestine networks and use of “snap drills” to mobilize and posture various elements of their forces to conduct offensive operations 19 The repeated execution of these drills desensitizes friendly intelligence and makes discerning the indications and warnings of an actual offensive very difficult thus increasing an adversary’s probability of achieving surprise d The adversary’s ability to fragment a potential Joint Force counteroffensive is enhanced by actions to posture forces to enable its rapid escalation into armed conflict The adversary prepares for armed conflict either to exploit successful operations to isolate a target state or as a high-risk option to redress a severe setback in a vital area The adversary’s systems seek to fragment any Joint Force response by placing friendly formations in all areas in multiple forms of contact often simultaneously to limit maneuver and Joint Force integration The Joint Force however retains considerable freedom of maneuver to execute flexible deterrent options FDO 19 Recent examples of the Russian operational employment of combined arms formations in Georgia Crimea and Ukraine demonstrate that the scale of mobilization required varies by situation Operations demanding more surprise but with limited capabilities and or capacities available might require days of mobilization while others will require more resources Most threat units committed operationally prior to complete mobilization will be more vulnerable to prepared friendly defenses or immediate friendly counterattack Integrated air defense systems IADS put all aerial sensors such as radar acoustic visual observers and other technical means as well as antiaircraft weapons such as anti-aircraft artillery surface-to-air missiles air superiority fighters etc under a common system of command and control 14 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION and posture forces prior to the adversary’s activation of IADS firing of SSMs or execution of large-scale cyber-attacks 1 In the Close Area the adversary’s conventional forces will either infiltrate the Close Area to overpower partner security forces before outside powers respond or to exploit perceived temporal advantages by transitioning immediately from a snap exercise to attack friendly forces and seize terrain IW narratives backed by credible threats of force can shape public opinion and policymakers in ways that constrain friendly options Prior to deliberately initiating armed conflict the adversary’s IW narratives seek to create the perception among friendly audiences that any escalation by the adversary is defensive in nature and justified by friendly forces’ provocations 2 When committed adversary long-range fires direct action SOF empowered proxies and stealthy maritime assets attack Joint Force inter- and intra-theater movement ports ships airfields rail and road hubs transport and strike reconnaissance aircraft advanced logistic bases and mission command facilities with surface-to-surface missile surface-to-air missile and UW attacks Cyberspace operations against critical transportation mission command and public networks and infrastructure exploit seams detected in competition in order to deny critical services and degrade friendly unit effectiveness The adversary also attacks friendly satellites to disrupt movement communications and reconnaissance e As outlined above the adversary intends to achieve objectives outright in competition through UW and IW without risking escalation to armed conflict The adversary operates from a position of relative conventional force strength to discourage friendly opposition and provide advantageous options should it choose to escalate Its reconnaissance efforts during this period are continuous and linked to UW IW and potential conventional offensive operations While it has no singular critical vulnerability in competition the adversary faces critical risks to achieving long-term objectives in armed conflict unless it establishes and sustains an effective IW narrative to justify escalation beyond competition The adversary seeks to create the perception through action and narratives among sufficient international regional and local elements that violence and coercion are justified and that friendly action is unjust In so doing the adversary’s IW narrative will undermine if not incapacitate a friendly alliance’s capacity to resist When the adversary is unsuccessful at achieving its strategic aims short of armed conflict in competition and it determines that conditions warrant the execution of a rapid military campaign the adversary may transition to armed conflict to achieve its ends 2-5 Primary enemy systems and methods for armed conflict a Once engaged in armed conflict the enemy attempts to accomplish objectives and achieve a favorable outcome quickly in order to limit the risk to its forces and civil stability In armed conflict enemy systems fragment the integrated employment of forward-positioned Joint Force elements and prevent follow-on deploying echelons from reinforcing the theater of operations in time to affect the outcome Conventional forces are the enemy’s main effort in armed conflict supported by unconventional warfare information warfare and nuclear capabilities to 15 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION achieve a rapid decisive victory Figure 5 illustrates how and where enemy systems are employed during armed conflict Figure 5 Enemy Military Systems in Armed Conflict b Conventional forces Conventional forces are the enemy’s primary means of accomplishing objectives in armed conflict Enemy conventional forces execute offensive operations to seize key terrain and destroy friendly formations as a follow-on operation that reinforces or exploits reconnaissance UW and IW activities initiated in competition Enemy conventional forces transition to defensive operations that retain key terrain destroy friendly formations and incorporate UW and IW activities to consolidate gains In both the offense and defense the enemy converges its ISR-strike system IADS ground maneuver formations and maritime capabilities in a systems approach that places the Joint Force in multiple simultaneous forms of contact in all areas of the battlespace Irregular forces often transition to a supporting role during armed conflict and conduct security operations that shape an occupied area often through ethnic cleansing or other population-control measures while offering the conventional forces a layer of immunity from claims of war crimes 1 ISR-strike system The enemy’s ISR-strike system is its critical capability in armed conflict It employs long-range anti-surface strike and fires air-launched maritime-launched and ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles integrated with ISR capabilities including unmanned aerial systems SOF sensors etc to overwhelm friendly headquarters ground maneuver formations and naval concentrations embarkation and debarkation air and sea ports and sustainment facilities in the Strategic and Operational Support Areas The attacks from this integrated system provide the enemy with its most effective means to delay and disrupt the Joint Force’s echelonment of forces into the theater of operations and to prevent it from integrating and sustaining combat power once in theater The enemy’s attacks or the threat of attacks on civil targets also influence domestic and allied political decision making to deny the Joint Force use of key terrain and access to important additional military capacities Although enemies possess large numbers of long-range fires platforms and supporting munitions they do not have an infinite number or supply Successful employment of the ISR-strike system depends on 16 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION timely reconnaissance sufficient logistics support and adequate command control communications computers intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance C4ISR to engage dynamic friendly targets across the depth of the battlespace The protection of enemy long-range fires by sophisticated IADS ground maneuver formations and maritime forces in many regions located in the sanctuary of the enemy homeland makes attacking them a challenge 2 Integrated air defense system IADS Integrated air defenses consisting of firing batteries radars C2 networks and air superiority aircraft provide essential protection for the enemy’s long-range fires ground maneuver formations maritime surface ships bases and sustainment and C2 functions It restricts friendly airborne reconnaissance and strike systems throughout the depth of the battlespace providing the backbone of adversary A2 AD capabilities The IADS also contests friendly air superiority aircraft exposing friendly ground formations bases and naval forces to both enemy airborne reconnaissance and attack The enemy’s firing batteries and radars generate physical and electronic signatures and have finite magazine capacity This makes them vulnerable to attack to include ground attack by friendly conventional and unconventional ground forces As a defense against friendly airborne reconnaissance and strike capabilities sophisticated IADS networks are multi-layered mobile dispersed and capable of autonomous operations The IADS not only protects strike and fires systems but also enables effective ground and maritime maneuver and challenges friendly forces’ abilities to enter the theater 3 Ground maneuver formations The enemy’s ground maneuver formations depend on the effect of the ISR-strike systems and execute offensive and defensive combined arms operations to seize and hold key terrain to secure the enemy’s primary military objectives protect ISR-strike and IADS assets and destroy friendly forces Sophisticated enemy combined arms formations converge massed tactical fires mobile protected lethal maneuver units manned and unmanned reconnaissance and strike aircraft tactical air defense electronic warfare chemical weapons and C2 to overmatch friendly ground forces operating without tactical air superiority in the Close Area The enemy’s combined arms formations defeat friendly maneuver units in detail by enabling its tactical indirect fires the ISR-strike and IADS systems to position and together defeat friendly airborne and ground reconnaissance missions as well as attack friendly command nodes and systems tactical fires batteries and sustainment activities 20 This combined effect separates and isolates friendly maneuver units in the Close Area where the enemy uses maneuver elements and other systems to fix friendly forces and tactical fires to destroy them When sufficiently sustained and free from friendly deep reconnaissance and strike assets enemy combined arms formations can execute operational maneuver that isolates friendly forces with limited mobility and penetrate defenses into the Tactical Support Area The enemy’s ground maneuver units however have a limited sustainment capacity which can be exhausted in an extended or destructive campaign 4 Maritime The enemy’s maritime forces disrupt friendly inter-theater and intra-theater sea and air movement attack friendly ships and seize key littoral terrain Enemy submarines provide reconnaissance for long-range fires and attack friendly ships in “blue water ” act as 20 The enemy’s tactical indirect fires system consists of tube and rocket artillery command and control nodes ammunition stocks and sustainment units and communications networks 17 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION launch platforms for submarine-launched cruise missiles and lay mines to block important maritime choke points and harbors The enemy’s surface combatants and amphibious forces exploit local sea control and seize key littoral terrain under the cover of enemy long-range fires and IADS but are vulnerable if this coverage is limited or not available Submarines are a growing threat to the friendly strategic and operational rear The enemy’s submarines have the ability to separate the strategic and operational movement of U S forces long enough to change the outcome of any campaign depending upon maritime support to maintain its lines of communications 5 In summary the enemy can attack strategic operational and tactical targets simultaneously throughout the battlespace with capabilities from multiple domains to overwhelm existing mission command practices and systems and make friendly forward-deployed forces fight isolated domain-centric battles without mutual support Friendly air forces face sophisticated IADS and aviation threats in the air and massed fires against airfields and bases The enemy can detect forward-positioned maritime forces at long range and attack them with massed shore-based fires rendering them unable to contribute strikes or amphibious forces to the air and ground campaigns for operationally significant periods of time Ground forces without air cover lack deep reconnaissance for fires and are exposed to enemy reconnaissance air attack and massed fires Without the ability to operate semi-independently and across domains friendly ground maneuver forces can be easily defeated in the Close Area by enemy combined arms formations c Unconventional warfare UW The enemy’s UW activities in armed conflict enable operations in the Close and Support Areas especially when enabled by proxy forces Enemy UW operations in the Strategic and Operational Support Areas provide the enemy invaluable reconnaissance for long-range fires targeting and even limited ground attack capabilities Enemy SOF and proxies in the Tactical Support and Close Areas assist in the reconnaissance effort and conduct attacks against undefended mission command fires and sustainment targets as economy-of-force efforts or in advance of enemy offensives UW is also integral to the enemy’s consolidation of gains in newly secured territory However effective security countersubversion and policing can limit the enemy’s ability to expand this capability in most areas Also unless supported by an effective IW narrative high levels of enemy UW activity can strengthen rather than reduce friendly resistance d Information warfare IW Enemy IW operations in armed conflict complement longrange fires and focus attacks on friendly cyberspace networks and space-based communications intelligence reconnaissance and positioning navigation and timing PNT systems Attacks on these systems complicate friendly forward-deployed forces’ operations and delay reinforcing forces by restricting friendly space-based reconnaissance preventing the Joint Force from conducting movement and making distributed mission command difficult in all areas The enemy’s cyber and space attacks will originate from ambiguous or Deep Fires Areas making them difficult to counterattack The enemy’s cyber-attacks pose a serious threat to friendly network-centric militaries and civil societies These cyber-attacks however depend on extensive reconnaissance and preparation prior to execution and risk generating large-scale collateral damage to neutral parties as well as galvanizing international resolve against it unless 18 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION supported by an effective IW narrative The propaganda narratives that dominate the enemy’s IW operations in competition underscore the flow of operations in armed conflict These narratives enable the enemy to translate battlespace success to political success or threaten or justify its employment of tactical nuclear weapons in an effort to terminate the conflict through escalation e Nuclear weapons In conjunction with IW activities the enemy uses the psychological threat of employing nuclear weapons against population centers and military targets to coerce friendly decision makers and fundamentally alter negotiating calculus and end the conflict in its favor Enemy nuclear weapons delivered by missiles aircraft and artillery and inserted as areadenial ground placement into the Support and Close Areas produce specific physical and psychological effects to friendly forces populations and leaders both military and political The enemy employs nuclear weapon blast effects to destroy friendly force concentrations critical infrastructure and even civilian populations Radiological effects deny key terrain and electromagnetic pulses destroy unhardened electrical circuits in a wide variety of military and civilian networks The use of nuclear weapons against the U S or a treaty ally government however risks escalation to strategic nuclear systems and destruction of the enemy’s society in a general nuclear exchange f As outlined above the enemy integrates its systems first in competition and then in armed conflict presenting friendly commanders and forces with multiple interconnected problems they cannot solve before the enemy concludes its fait accompli campaign The enemy’s shaping operations in competition posture its forces advantageously for escalation and enable both surprise and justification for an offensive campaign During armed conflict enemy conventional forces quickly separate and overwhelm friendly forward-deployed forces while enemy longrange fires IW and UW prevent effective friendly echelonment from operational and strategic distances Weakened friendly forces are then unable to effectively attack well-defended enemy critical capabilities in the Deep Maneuver and Fires Areas The enemy seeks to rapidly defeat friendly forces with its ability to isolate forward-positioned forces and the Joint Force’s corresponding inability to isolate enemy forces and fight them in an orchestrated sequence across domains 2-6 Enemy systems and methods to deny decisive U S victory or avoid an unfavorable political outcome a The enemy sets conditions in competition that enable its forces to achieve objectives in armed conflict quickly and decisively without significant risk to military formations or civil stability It seeks to splinter friendly alliances isolate weakly postured friendly military forces and defeat them in detail and consolidate gains under the protection of a viable threat of tactical nuclear escalation If the enemy achieves its objectives a new competition begins on terms favorable to its military and government Enemy miscalculations and battlespace defeats that disrupt this approach however produce a return to competition distinct in the inability of either side to produce a decisive result 19 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION b If the enemy cannot achieve a battlespace decision quickly armed conflict will transition to a new period in which both sides retain operationally significant military forces but neither side can achieve decisive results without a substantial commitment of resources and risk of intolerable casualties Extended armed conflict therefore will likely result in the exhaustion of critical munitions as well as the destruction of many expensive weapons systems and highly trained formations on both sides Enemy conventional forces will then lack offensive capabilities and capacities as high-readiness formations will be exhausted Enemy forces in forward positions will develop deliberate defenses while IW and the threat of nuclear weapons employment provide time to mobilize reserves generate UW options and support a negotiated settlement on favorable terms c Unlike the initial competition prior to armed conflict the battlespace in a return to competition after armed conflict will initially be characterized by widespread violence Enemy conventional forces retain significant lethality and occupy some friendly terrain preventing a rapid reduction in violence Under these conditions the enemy will seek to employ other less expensive capabilities to prolong the conflict in its favor An increased reliance on UW IW and potentially nuclear capabilities if enemy civil stability is threatened allows the enemy to rebuild conventional forces and retain or reestablish internal stability These conditions provide a favorable position for a negotiated settlement and return to the lower levels of violence in competition 2-7 Problems in the “new” battlespace Assessment of the emerging operating environment the new battlespace and adversary systems and methods in competition and armed conflict results in five main problems to U S forces a How do U S forces deter the escalation of violence defeat adversary operations to destabilize the region and turn denied spaces into contested spaces should violence escalate 21 Figure 6 item 1 b How do U S forces maneuver from contested strategic and operational distances and with sufficient combat power in time to defeat enemy forces Figure 6 item 2 c How do U S forces conduct deep maneuver by air naval and or ground forces to suppress and destroy enemy indirect fire and air defense systems and reserve forces Figure 6 item 3 d How do U S forces enable ground forces to defeat the enemy in the Close Area Figure 6 item 4 e How do U S forces consolidate gains and produce sustainable outcomes set conditions for long-term deterrence and adapt to the new security environment Figure 6 item 5 21 Denied spaces are those areas where the adversary can severely constrain U S and allied forces’ freedom of action through A2 AD and other measures Contested spaces are those areas where U S and allied forces can challenge the adversary’s denial measures maintain some degree of friendly freedom of action and potentially deny adversary freedom of action 20 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Figure 6 Problems in the “new” battlespace Chapter 3 The Military Problem and Multi-Domain Battle’s Central Idea 3-1 Military problem How will U S ground forces as part of the Joint Force and with partners deter and defeat increasingly capable peer adversaries intent on fracturing allied and Joint Force cohesion in competition and armed conflict 3-2 Central idea U S ground forces as part of the Joint Force conduct Multi-Domain Battle to deter and defeat increasingly capable adversaries in competition armed conflict and a return to competition by calibrating force posture by employing resilient cross-domain capable formations that can maneuver on the expanded battlespace and by converging capabilities across multiple domains environments and functions to create windows of advantage that enable maneuver a In competition Multi-Domain Battle enables the Joint Force and its partners to deter and defeat adversary aggression by conducting proactive stabilization campaigns contesting destabilization campaigns deterring escalation through the application of flexible deterrent options and rapid deterrence response options and preparing for transition immediately into armed conflict should the adversary attack 22 The Joint Force succeeds by sustaining alliances and partnerships and extending competition indefinitely on terms favorable to the U S and its partners while preventing escalation to armed conflict To accomplish this objective the Joint Force and its partners defeat aggression by contesting disrupting or destroying the adversary’s systems that enable its operational approach They do this by contesting its reconnaissance UW and IW operations and deterring its conventional forces through the strengthening of partners’ conventional and irregular capabilities demonstrating the ability to turn spaces the adversary can deny into contested spaces and demonstrating the ability to maneuver from operational and strategic distances Together these friendly actions combine with or complement other applications of the elements of national power to prevent the adversary from separating the U S and its partners politically and maintain favorable and sustainable security 22 A destabilization campaign is intended to cause internal strife in a targeted nation as a precursor or justification for other enemy actions within that country or as a distraction from intentions elsewhere 21 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION b In armed conflict Multi-Domain Battle enables the Joint Force and its partners to defeat the enemy’s conventional forces in a rapid campaign of maneuver across all areas of the expanded battlespace in multiple domains and locations simultaneously denying the enemy its strategic objectives without escalation The Joint Force and its partners succeed by repulsing the enemy’s initial attacks denying fait accompli objectives and setting conditions for a negotiated solution on favorable terms without further escalation To achieve this objective friendly forces defeat the adversary’s systems and campaign design through four interconnected actions First conducting counter-reconnaissance reconnaissance and operational preparation of the environment allows Joint and partner forces to respond proactively to aggression 23 Contesting the enemy immediately in all domains begins to degrade its critical capabilities and systems at the outset of conflict Disrupting the enemy’s main effort or attack buys time for further friendly response Finally deploying forces rapidly with the capability to defeat the enemy and achieve a desirable outcome enables victory The tempo and lethality of the future operating environment will preclude friendly forces from planning and executing sequential lines of operations and require the Joint Force to execute these four efforts with a level of simultaneity that has yet to be realized in the force’s current posture capability and capacity Together these actions deny the enemy its attempts to break the synergy of the Joint Force and deny it achieving its strategic objectives while enabling the U S and partner forces to return to competition on favorable terms c Finally in a return to competition the Joint Force and its partners continue to face a stillcapable peer adversary that is actively subverting and selectively attacking friendly activities to re-impose its will in the region During this highly volatile period Multi-Domain Battle enables the Joint Force to retain the initiative won during conflict and consolidate gains by helping restore public services reestablish law and order and isolate and defeat the adversary’s subversive activities Multi-Domain Battle enables the rapid and favorable transition from armed conflict to competition from a sustainable position of relative advantage Joint and partner forces succeed by protecting partners internally and externally and by renewing the competition on terms favorable to the U S and its partners while preventing a return to armed conflict To accomplish this objective friendly forces defeat the adversary’s renewed subversion campaign and its supporting systems by contesting the reconnaissance UW and IW actions to destabilize partners deterring a return to armed conflict and restoring and strengthening partner capabilities and capacities to operate effectively 24 These actions deny the adversary its ability to leverage political instability and the vulnerable internal security environment of a partner or partners to separate the U S from its allies and partners and simultaneously enable a controlled return to a favorable and sustainable security d The Multi-Domain Battle concept describes friendly force actions across domains linked in time function and physical space to defeat the adversary’s systems in competition armed conflict and a return to competition In each one Multi-Domain Battle describes how the Joint Force and its partners converge capabilities to create windows of advantage that enable 23 Operational preparation of the environment is the conduct of activities in likely or potential areas of operations to prepare and shape the operational environment JP 3-05 This includes actions to set the theater such as developing relationships with partner-nation governments and their security forces establishing basing and access rights prepositioning equipment developing a communications architecture establishing baseline intelligence and emplacing an intelligence architecture 24 A subversion campaign is intended to undermine the power and authority of an allied government to obtain operational or strategic aims 22 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION maneuver Maneuver physically virtually and or cognitively executed simultaneously across the expanded battlespace seeks to directly attack critical vulnerabilities in the adversary’s systems and campaign plans in different ways to create multiple dilemmas for the enemy Creating multiple physical virtual and cognitive dilemmas for the enemy overwhelms the adversary’s systematic approach to fracturing friendly forces and allows the Joint Force and partners to achieve friendly objectives at acceptable risk 3-3 Components and subcomponents of the solution a Components of the solution To execute Multi-Domain Battle the Joint Force and its partners operationalize three components of the solution that allow friendly forces to succeed in the evolving operating environment U S ground forces operationalize these interrelated components of the solution by calibrating force posture to prevent adversary fait accompli campaigns employing resilient formations that can maneuver semi-independently on the expanded battlespace and converging capabilities to create windows of advantage to enable maneuver Appropriate force posture requires the calibration of forward presence expeditionary forces and integrated partner capabilities to deter the adversary and when necessary defeat the enemy’s fait accompli campaign Because sophisticated enemies will attempt to isolate and defeat friendly forces U S ground formations must be resilient in order to withstand the enemy without Joint Force enablers or domain superiority for periods of time To detect create and exploit windows of advantage resilient formations are also organized to conduct semi-independent cross-domain maneuver while headquarters integrate operations with advanced capabilities and according to the mission command philosophy Converging Joint Force capabilities to create windows of advantage across multiple domains enables operations to defeat the adversary’s aggression in competition defeat the enemy in armed conflict and in the return to competition contest the adversary’s renewed subversion campaign and consolidate gains by providing commanders multiple options and presenting the enemy with multiple dilemmas or defeat mechanisms The combination of Multi-Domain Battle components in space and time varies based on the adversary partners and theater of operations Application of these three components of Multi-Domain Battle enable Joint Force leaders to address the problems presented by peer adversaries by employing the most effective combinations of force posture resilient formations and convergence of capabilities to create windows of advantage maneuver to defeat threat systems and defeat the enemy’s campaigns in competition and armed conflict 1 Force Posture Multi-Domain Battle requires a dynamic mix of forward presence forces expeditionary forces and partner forces to deter an adversary and if required to defeat his plan within days and not months 25 Forward presence forces along with partners are essential to success when competing to defeat and deter the adversary’s UW and IW efforts and prevent fait accompli campaigns by posturing inside the adversary’s anti-access systems They must be capable of immediately turning denied spaces into contested spaces by attacking or threatening the enemy’s critical vulnerabilities Expeditionary forces to include strategic attack capabilities that can respond rapidly within days not months to reinforce forward 25 This timeline – is based on the time for the enemy to achieve objectives consolidate gains and set defenses – is derived from findings shown in RAND’s study on “Reinforcing Deterrence on NATO’s Eastern Flank ” This assessment is broadly applicable to the aims of other adversaries who compete below armed conflict and when advantageous conduct rapid limited military campaigns 23 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION presence and partner forces are essential because the adversary’s system will mask the indications and warnings required to adjust the calibration of forward-presence forces prior to armed conflict U S forces must have the expeditionary capacity including strategic lift to maneuver directly from home station or other theaters of operation in the Strategic Support and Operational Support Areas into battle because enemy lethal and nonlethal attacks will contest strategic and operational maneuver and prevent extensive reception staging and onward movement activities Partner forces that are politically aligned and militarily integrated with the Joint Force provide essential capacity unique capabilities and key terrain required to defeat enemy systems in competition and armed conflict Unique partner capabilities contribute immeasurably to friendly success in reconnaissance countering UW and information environment operations IEO while enhanced partner counter-A2 AD and conventional ground maneuver capabilities and capacities buy critical time for friendly forces to prevail against attacking adversary conventional forces 26 2 Resilient Formations a Multi-Domain Battle requires resilient formations capable of conducting semiindependent cross-domain maneuver throughout the depth of the battlespace from any location in the world to the point of conflict to address the enemy’s lethality and ability to contest the Joint Force in all domains Regardless of initial posture forward-based or expeditionary forces U S cross-domain capable tactical formations will be able to conduct combined-arms maneuver Multi-Domain Battle demands formations capable of conducting semi-independent dispersed mutually supporting combined-arms operations with capabilities deployed to or accessible at the lowest practical tactical echelon to generate and exploit some advantage over the adversary These scalable and task-organized units possess the essential ISR firepower endurance and mobility to operate as distributed combined arms-capable forces while retaining the agility to converge dispersed capabilities at a desired place and time to confront the full range of adversary challenges They also composite layered long-range precision fires capabilities – both kinetic and non-kinetic strike and integrated air and missile defenses – to disrupt degrade and hold at risk an adversary’s enabling capabilities Multi-domain convergence requires forces to operate and thrive in conditions of austerity within range of enemy long-range fires and therefore must be resilient b Because friendly forces face contact in all areas from a range of the adversary’s capabilities at any given time often from varying directions and domains the battlespace is expanded and often noncontiguous Conversely the complementary capabilities of friendly forces enable commanders to conduct attacks from varying directions and domains to create surprise and increase survivability of the force The absence of safe havens and assured domain superiority results in revised considerations for how U S ground formations conduct operations and how they are designed and trained Resilient formations are cross-domain capable avoid detection and survive contact with the enemy maneuver and fight for periods without continuous supply lines or secured flanks and train cognitively to execute mission command in degraded conditions with tools that allow commanders and staffs to converge capabilities across domains environments and functions These qualities allow friendly 26 See the Glossary and Appendix C for the definition and further explanation of information environment operations IEO 24 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION formations to operate without superiority in all domains and provide operational joint commanders options to prioritize high-value low-density joint capabilities against operational problems other than enabling ground maneuver 27 This allows formations to operate semiindependently when isolated and conduct noncontiguous cross-domain operations when needed to contest enemy actions enable the echelonment of friendly forces from operational and strategic depths and provide options to dislocate enemy operations and systems that enable the Joint Force greater freedom of action U S ground forces contribute to solving these operational problems outside of the Close Area by employing capabilities both organic and supporting across all domains to enable and exploit friendly capability convergence 3 Convergence See Figure 7 a Convergence is the integration of capabilities across domains environments and functions in time and physical space to achieve a purpose Multi-Domain Battle requires converging interorganizational and military as well as lethal and nonlethal capabilities across multiple domains and environments in time and space to create windows of advantage that enable the Joint Force to maneuver or gain a position of advantage The requirement to employ formations to create and exploit windows of advantage throughout the depth of the expanded battlespace over time ranging from seconds to years represents the greatest challenge for commanders posed by the new operating environment Capability convergence produces physical virtual and or cognitive windows of advantage that provide the freedom of maneuver required for forces to defeat adversary systems and ultimately achieve friendly objectives Converging capabilities across domains environments and functions to produce windows of advantage requires a sophisticated understanding of the relationship between time spaces and purpose b Windows of advantage Converging interorganizational and military lethal and nonlethal capabilities across domains environments and functions produces windows of advantage that are places and times in which friendly forces or capabilities can maneuver to accomplish missions These windows can be used to enable maneuver or set conditions for decisive shaping and sustaining operations The Joint Force and partners converge capabilities to detect and create physical virtual and cognitive windows of advantage during competition that are often essential for success in armed conflict 28 Windows of advantage are a requirement for maneuver in the increasingly lethal and complex operating environment where the enemy’s systems are organized to place friendly forces in multiple forms of lethal and nonlethal contact at extended ranges over prolonged periods of time Friendly forces exploit windows of advantage to accomplish campaign objectives outright or to better posture forces in positions of advantage that enable further capabilities convergence and windows of advantage Resilient formations capable of semi-independent cross-domain maneuver provide the commander multiple options 27 Ground forces must still be capable of using joint fires to enable maneuver across all domains Because joint fires are a limited resource however it is recognized that at times the priority of effort for joint fires may be elsewhere besides the Close Area such as shaping operations in the Deep Areas or maintaining windows of advantage to enable sustainment operations through the Support Areas Therefore ground formations must not be fully dependent upon those capabilities but instead be able to survive and operate at some level when that support is not available 28 Examples of windows of advantage created during competition that extend into or are essential for success in armed conflict include territorial access physical authorities physical virtual cognitive popular or government support cognitive expanded partner capacity physical and reconnaissance posture and intelligence sharing physical virtual cognitive 25 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION to create and exploit windows of advantage non-linearly in order to present multiple dilemmas to the enemy c Time Physical virtual and cognitive capabilities across the domains environments and functions often possess substantially different time characteristics that govern how they can be employed When creating and exploiting windows of advantage commanders must visualize and execute combined-arms maneuver in new ways because the varied characteristics of different capabilities that must be converged at a place or places to achieve a purpose impose unique time considerations to operations The Joint Force and its partners must also reconsider time in terms of converging actions during competition to achieve objectives without resort to but also through transition to armed conflict and a return to competition To support converging capabilities in time and purpose Multi-Domain Battle proposes five elements—preparation time planning and execution time duration time reset time and cycle time—to visualize the convergence of capabilities Preparation time is the time required to produce conditions required for a capability’s employment Planning and execution time is the time required to initiate movement combined with the time required to move or transmit to the objective Duration time is the time that a capability produces the intended effect Reset time is the time required to regenerate a capability between employments Cycle time is one iteration of planning through reset time Understanding time is both art and science as elements of time for some capabilities such as planning and execution time for a ballistic missile attack can or must be known with great certainty while other aspects such as duration of a cyberspace effect can only be estimated d Converging capabilities in spaces over time The Multi-Domain Battle operational framework and time elements describe where when and how friendly and enemy capabilities interact to produce windows of advantage that allow forces to maneuver Virtual capabilities in particular offer an extreme illustration of the limitlessness in physical space variability in elements of time and wide variety of potential effects that create both complexities and opportunities of converging capabilities across domains environments and functions To mitigate these complexities and seize opportunities resilient formations must operate under the mission command philosophy because of the uncertain durations and physical extents or intensities of many virtual cognitive and even physical effects Although physical virtual and or cognitive capabilities are converged to produce windows of advantage these conditions normally though not exclusively occur in physical space The most commonly understood examples of capability convergence involve friendly forces creating windows of advantage in the Deep Maneuver Area during armed conflict for air ground and maritime forces to maneuver against enemy IADS and strike systems Multi-Domain Battle however recognizes that friendly forces will also converge even greater quantities of capabilities over longer periods of time to prevail or set conditions in competition as well as enabling essential activities in the Support Areas in armed conflict 26 27 Convergence Friendly forces create Physical Virtual and Cognitive Windows of enable cross-domain semi-independent maneuver create multiple Functions - vironments I Domains Capabilities m to achieve develop the friendly and exploit operational endstate and defeat ofthe enemy s campaign Inter- organizational Military Lethal - I d' I Non Lethal minutss sataiwrt Ol' IS 008 an defeat enemy competition below armed con ict armed con ict return to competition in across fora Friendly forces - Preparation DEEP Fires Gal ACCESS - Plan execute - Deep Maneuver - Conduct Reconnaissance - Duration - Close - Maneuverr Exploit - Reset - Tactical Support - Strike EnemyISeize Terrain - Cycle - Operational Support - Support and Sustain Operations - Strategic Support - Protect Forces and Populations Figure 7 Convergence NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION e Purpose The purpose of converging capabilities to detect create and exploit windows of advantage is to enable maneuver Friendly forces maneuver through all domains and environments to achieve campaign objectives In some cases especially in competition friendly forces maneuver through a single long-duration physical and cognitive window of advantage can achieve a campaign objective outright by deterrence and without armed conflict Friendly forces in other cases exploit windows of advantage to advance the friendly information narrative and create conditions that achieve friendly objectives by gaining access conducting reconnaissance maneuvering to positions of advantage and striking enemy forces to seize terrain support and sustain operations and protect forces and populations These actions develop additional options for the Joint Force and partners to defeat and destroy enemy forces and present multiple dilemmas that dislocate and overwhelm enemy systems Continued defeat or destruction of enemy capabilities reduces the enemy’s physical ability and affects its cognitive will to resist b The components of Multi-Domain Battle applied in different ways at different periods against different adversary problems enable commanders and forces to achieve objectives against the increasingly capable adversary systems outlined in Chapter 2 As will be described in sections 3-4 3-5 and 3-6 the Joint Force and its partners calibrate force posture employ resilient formations capable of semi-independent maneuver without domain superiority and converge capabilities to create windows of advantage in different ways over time according to the situation on the expanded battlespace to solve the problems presented by a peer adversary Applying these components and actions in competition armed conflict and a return to competition the Joint Force in concert with partners can accomplish the following actions 29 • Defeat the adversary’s operations to fracture alliances and destabilize a region deter the escalation of violence and set conditions to turn denied spaces into contested spaces immediately should violence escalate • Maneuver from strategic and operational distances across multiple domains and environments while contested but with sufficient combat power in time to defeat enemy forces • Conduct deep maneuver by air naval and or ground forces to suppress and destroy enemy ISR-strike and IADS systems • Defeat the enemy in close combat with ground maneuver forces to destroy enemy systems and enable the Joint Force • Consolidate gains and produce sustainable outcomes set conditions for long-term deterrence and adapt to the new security environment 29 The first two actions are important because achieving relative success in these actions sets conditions to achieve success in the last three actions 28 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 3-4 Defeat the adversary’s aggression in competition a In competition U S forces and partners Europe 1967-89 Competition With the adoption of Flexible Response in 1967 converge combinations of physical virtual and NATO formally recognized that Soviet cognitive capabilities at times and places of their nuclear parity and conventional strength choosing across the expanded battlespace to retain a undermined deterrence Over the next 20 years NATO countries resourced improved favorable position while preventing escalation into military capabilities and capacities 30 armed conflict U S ground forces in cooperation countered Warsaw Pact efforts to politically with joint forces and other partners defeat fracture the alliance and demonstrated the aggression prevent the escalation into armed conflict capability to respond to potential escalation with exercises that enhanced readiness and extend competition on favorable terms and integration and demonstrated the indefinitely by contesting the adversary’s ability to transition to armed conflict reconnaissance UW and IW and by deterring its conventional capabilities At the same time U S forces and partners enhance deterrence and have the ability to transition to armed conflict in response to the escalation of aggression by the adversary by operationally preparing the environment and organizing forward-postured forces to fight immediately and to turn denied spaces into contested spaces These efforts sustain alliances and partner-nation political systems the adversary seeks to fracture with its actions short of armed conflict b Contest the adversary’s reconnaissance operations 31 1 The Joint Force and its partners contest the adversary’s reconnaissance operations and preparation of the environment to maintain or create conditions that keep the adversary operating below armed conflict while denying him the ability to achieve offensive strategic objectives in competition Friendly forces accomplish this task and sustain friendly freedom of action across the expanded battlespace by denying the adversary the ability to understand friendly intentions in three ways First the Joint Force and its partners protect critical networks systems and infrastructure for projecting power in days not months Second they interdict the adversary’s actions to prepare the environment to neutralize friendly reconnaissance and targeting Finally they take active and passive measures to contest the adversary’s reconnaissance capabilities Together these actions deny enemy objectives in competition while protecting friendly forces’ freedom of action 2 The Joint Force and its partners protect core forward-postured and expeditionary maneuver capabilities from the adversary’s active reconnaissance and surveillance efforts to enable the projection of power into a contested environment Physically virtually and cognitively the Joint Force and its partners protect air and sea ports networks in the Strategic and Operational Support Areas and strategic and operational transport assets from the adversary’s surveillance by human means This protection requires the convergence of civilian and military capabilities to operate against the adversary’s SOF and human intelligence networks in both the homeland Strategic Support Area and partner states Close Area Additionally 30 The most favorable terms would be that the adversary has fewer ways and means of exerting coercion during competition and that its actions incurred a direct challenge to its hold on domestic power 31 Adversary reconnaissance operations extend beyond the conventional battlespace into space and cyberspace 29 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION U S forces closely monitor and defend critical space networks and assets from enemy activity rapidly responding to attacks on these critical nodes and dynamically reallocating non-contested bandwidth as capability is lost Virtually defensive cyberspace operations protect interconnected military and civilian transportation and installations computer networks and PNT nodes across the expanded battlespace Smart systems and networks detect adversary probing and intrusion and automatically apply appropriate active and passive cyberspace responses to allow the Joint Force to conduct the necessary level of mission command and maintain the tempo required to sustain tactical operations and operational and strategic maneuver Cognitively the Joint Force converges capabilities with partner military and civilian forces to protect against IW that disrupts key enabling populations e g sea and airport workers and unions Converging the capabilities of the Joint Force and partner’s intelligence systems enables tracking and infiltrating adversary subversion networks By gaining placement and access to information mediums and mechanisms friendly forces challenge the adversary’s information attacks on social media These combined actions—from both forward-postured and expeditionary forces—contest the threat’s active reconnaissance and preparations to protect the U S force’s expeditionary maneuver capabilities 3 The Joint Force and its partners interdict the adversary’s conventional preparation of the environment and neutralize its efforts to provide targets for its ISR-strike system Physically they identify the adversary’s agents and proxies who provide intelligence on friendly forces and key infrastructure They converge multi-source intelligence with law enforcement and military counterintelligence across agencies and nations to interdict threat espionage and subversion networks Virtually friendly cyberspace formations identify and prevent the adversary’s attempts to attack friendly computer networks and systems used for air and maritime mobility ISR and air defense The Joint Force and its partners interdict these actions using adaptive combinations of offensive and defensive cyberspace tools enabled by ISR of military and civilian networks Protection relies on the convergence of intelligence counter-espionage and law enforcement operations and the ability to contest the adversary’s efforts to sabotage key military and civilian networks and infrastructure both physically and virtually through joint maneuver on the extended battlespace The Joint Force will also coordinate with interorganizational and multinational partners to mitigate effects in cyberspace by hardening networks at various points of conjunction 4 The Joint Force and its partners take direct action to contest and disrupt the adversary’s UW reconnaissance activities attempting to access friendly strategic and operational physical and virtual systems Forward-postured friendly forces converge capabilities to identify and attack the adversary’s proxy and special operations forces physically and cognitively The convergence of physical and virtual intelligence and maneuver capabilities police conventional forces and direct action SOF leads to raids on adversary UW cells Physically attriting the adversary’s UW reconnaissance through killing capturing or forcing the surrender of members produces cognitive windows of advantage in the friendly civilian populace and against adversary UW networks and leadership These cognitive windows enable other friendly reconnaissance UW IEO and deterrence activities and degrade similar adversary activities 30 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 5 The Joint Force and its partners continuously contest the adversary’s conventional and UW reconnaissance to protect key systems and capabilities and preserve the credibility of their deterrent capability while preventing the escalation of violence into armed conflict By physically virtually and cognitively protecting key friendly systems and interdicting the adversary’s reconnaissance friendly forces create conditions that cause the adversary to adapt Adversaries must either commit more resources and time to support preparation of the environment or increase the pace tempo and visibility of reconnaissance which increases the likelihood of exposing its techniques networks agents and systems to friendly interdiction and exploitation by friendly counter-reconnaissance capabilities Either decision the adversary makes contributes to the friendly objective of effectively competing short of armed conflict c Contest the adversary’s UW campaign 32 The Joint Force contests the adversary’s UW campaign aimed at fracturing partner political systems and alliances primarily through the partner’s national and local intelligence police and security forces as well as their cyberspace capabilities U S capabilities support efforts to oppose subversion in three ways First U S forces improve a partner’s tactical and operational capabilities to attack the adversary’s UW campaign Second the U S and partners converge physical virtual and cognitive capabilities to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in the adversary’s UW system Finally the Joint Force and its partners conduct selective operations to defeat the adversary’s UW campaign physically virtually and or cognitively 1 The Joint Force improves a partner nation’s tactical and operational capabilities to directly contest an adversary’s proxy forces by conducting security cooperation activities and military support to governance These activities provide specialized training advice and assistance to partner SOF conventional forces and policing to enhance the partner’s ability to physically conduct the counter-UW campaign 33 These activities occur principally in the Close and Support Areas and therefore require forward-postured U S forces able to assist the partner in the integration and application of military police intelligence cyberspace and governmental capabilities in the counter-UW campaign Virtually enhanced units linked to U S military governmental intelligence and police experts in the Strategic Support and Operational Support Areas enable security cooperation activities and military support to governance in the Close Area The combination of these physical and virtual activities maintains and strengthens the cognitive links between the U S and partner forces and enhance a partner state’s ability to contest the adversary’s UW campaign 2 The Joint Force converges technical intelligence cyberspace and technical network analysis capabilities with our partners’ human and local intelligence to identify vulnerabilities in the adversary’s UW system Physically a partner nation’s counter-subversion forces gain placement and access in the adversary’s human networks Converged with the U S ’s virtual and analytical capabilities e g machine learning and artificial intelligence partner countersubversion forces identify and attack the adversary’s activities faster than the adversary can respond Convergence of the partner’s physical means with the U S ’s virtual capabilities opens 32 A UW campaign employs activities to enable a resistance movement or insurgency intended to coerce disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating through or with an underground auxiliary or guerrilla force in a denied area 33 A counter-UW campaign is the friendly operations intended to defeat the enemy’s UW campaign 31 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION enduring windows of advantage that physically and cognitively isolate the adversary’s special operations and proxy forces to contest the adversary’s UW campaign 3 The Joint Force and its partners take direct action to disrupt and interdict the adversary’s UW capabilities across the expanded battlespace Forward-postured joint and partner forces converge physical and virtual capabilities creating windows of advantage to attack the adversary’s proxy and special operations forces discretely and successively even when intermixed with local populations in urban environments to degrade them physically and cognitively To accomplish this convergence U S and partner forces require timely and accurate intelligence the ability to conceal their activities physically and virtually operational reach in the theater and the ability on the objective to discern exploit and pursue These direct action maneuvers sustain the friendly initiative and over time contest the adversary’s UW systems and networks 4 A sustained effort by partners combined with intelligence and direct action forces presents the adversary a dilemma to either escalate the intensity of its UW actions and increase the risk of exposing its proxy forces or decrease its UW activities in time and space to protect them By persistently presenting the adversary with this dilemma the friendly counter-UW campaign extends competition indefinitely and on increasingly favorable terms Because the adversary uses its UW actions to generate events on the ground to support its IW narrative the successful countering of the adversary’s UW also creates positive effects in the friendly IEO campaign d Counter the adversary’s IW campaign The Joint Force and its partners counter the adversary’s IW campaign in two ways First to influence the cognitive dimension they communicate the friendly narrative and actions in contrast to the adversary’s narratives and actions to reinforce the alliance’s political and military strengths to local regional and global audiences Second they employ virtual cyberspace operations and physical measures e g network attack kinetic fires or other physical capabilities to directly contest the adversary’s narrative By challenging the adversary’s IW campaign U S forces and their partners limit the adversary’s cognitive ability to fracture partner’s political systems and friendly alliances 1 The Joint Force and its partners establish an enduring cognitive window by creating a separation between the friendly force’s and adversary’s respective narratives and actions Positively the Joint Force and its partners communicate the linkage between their narratives and events on the ground Negatively they communicate the incongruity between adversary’s messages and actions e g military exercises intended to influence a partner’s populace and government The difference between them creates a cognitive window the Joint Force exploits to communicate messages through social networks and cultural pathways that defeat the adversary’s IW system These IEO activities produce positive political and cognitive reciprocal effects that increase friendly forces’ freedom of action to contest the adversary’s UW system 2 The Joint Force and its partners directly contest the adversary’s IW campaign by attacking its narratives cognitively its delivery networks virtually and its messengers and tools physically This requires identifying the adversary’s messaging patterns and means of 32 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION delivery accessing networks physically and virtually analyzing messaging patterns identifying messengers physical and virtual removing the adversary’s messages in social media and destroying computers and servers used to deliver those messages physically and virtually The joint and partner IEO elements converge capabilities to create windows of virtual physical and cognitive advantage over time by identifying the adversary’s messages and exploiting access to computer and human networks to disrupt destroy or remove those messages virtually physically or both The Joint Force simultaneously employs capabilities to ensure the affected population has access to the internet or cellular networks to disseminate allied messages aid legitimate governance and enable the formation of cognitive mass in opposition of adversary action These windows create cognitive opportunities to make friendly narratives more effective 3 Friendly IEO efforts when enabled by effective friendly counter-reconnaissance and UW operations disrupt and eventually neutralize the adversary’s IW campaign This compounds the dilemma the adversary already faces in the UW campaign If it perceives it is losing the IW campaign against the partners and allies the adversary must either reduce the tempo and intensity of its IW campaign and the associated UW and reconnaissance actions that enable it or increase its information activity and the UW and reconnaissance activities that support it in frequency strength or both Reducing its IW and UW activities risks creating a cognitive and virtual window for the friendly narratives and their supporting actions to build up their effectiveness But escalatory IW and enabling UW create conditions for the Joint Force and partners to both exploit disconnects between the adversary’s subversive narrative and its ever more physical demonstrations of power The converged friendly IEO activities—tactical to strategic physical virtual and cognitive—continuously disrupt the adversary’s most influential mechanisms to shape the cognitive environment while also reinforcing friendly UW efforts Joint Force IEO is also one of the means that can extend operational reach into the enemy's strategic rear and present challenges to its most central strategic concern of maintaining political control The mutually reinforcing success in UW and IEO helps to extend competition on favorable terms e Deter conventional forces The Joint Force and its partners deter the adversary’s use of conventional forces that both reinforce its subversion campaign and set conditions to conduct a fait accompli attack if and when it chooses The Joint Force and its partners deter the adversary’s use of conventional force physically virtually and cognitively They do this in two primary ways First the Joint Force strengthens the partner’s forces both conventionally and unconventionally Second the Joint Force deters by demonstrating its abilities to both turn denied spaces into contested spaces through resilient forward-postured forces and to maneuver strategically and operationally credible expeditionary forces within days not months into the Close Area These actions may deter the adversary’s aggression support the friendly UW and IEO campaigns and prevent the potential transition to armed conflict 1 The Joint Force strengthens partner forces both conventionally and unconventionally Conventionally it physically and virtually improves the partner’s capacities and capabilities enabling the partner to create its own A2 AD approaches and improve its defenses By employing countermobility capabilities in combination with man-portable surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles the partner’s conventional forces alter the adversary’s campaign calculus 33 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION by imposing unanticipated combat and time costs Unconventionally the Joint Force prepares partner forces to continue to resist in the event the adversary’s forces occupy some or all of the partner’s homeland and deny it the ability to consolidate gains Enabled by joint SOF these resistance forces place key adversary systems at risk by being able to conduct precision strikes against occupying forces in the Deep Maneuver Area and change the enemy's risk-benefit calculations when contemplating occupation of a partner nation Enhancing forward posture by improving the capacities and capabilities of partner’s conventional and irregular forces reinforces the friendly IEO campaign while also deterring the adversary 2 The Joint Force and partners may deter armed conflict by demonstrating its ability to turn denied spaces into contested spaces and the ability to maneuver expeditionary forces from operational and strategic bases to the Close Area In the Close Area forward-postured resilient formations demonstrate their ability to immediately contest the adversary’s physical and virtual actions to isolate them through maneuver By continuing to maneuver they physically challenge the adversary’s ISR-strike system and IADS Virtually they detect and contest the adversary’s fires and communications networks In the Tactical and Operational Support Areas friendly space cyberspace EW joint strike long-range fires and counter-IADS systems demonstrate the ability to converge capabilities that create physical and virtual windows of temporary advantage These windows enable the maneuver of expeditionary forces from strategic and operational bases directly into the Close and Deep Maneuver Areas Through exercises and tests the Joint Force deters the adversary with the demonstration of the abilities to turn denied spaces into contested spaces with forward-positioned formations and to maneuver expeditionary forces from operational and strategic bases deters the adversary when the Joint Force demonstrates them 3 These demonstrated abilities of U S and partner forces to turn denied spaces into contested spaces and to maneuver from strategic and operational depths present multiple dilemmas for the adversary Because friendly forces demonstrate they can credibly present simultaneous counter-offensive capabilities immediately from the Close Area to the Operational Support Area the adversary’s primary mechanism to fracture the Joint Force—its ISR-strike system—is forced to spread or dilute its targeting and strike activities across many increasingly resilient targets The friendly force’s calibration of force posture and demonstrated abilities to both resist and rapidly deploy cause the adversary to change its fait accompli campaign calculus f Prepare to transition to armed conflict The ability to successfully deter an adversary requires demonstrating the ability to immediately transition to armed conflict and turn denied spaces into contested spaces Without the capability and authorities to respond immediately the ability to maneuver the Joint Force and challenge the adversary’s actions and prevent a fait accompli becomes exponentially more challenging An immediate response however requires extensive preparation Forward presence and partner forces enable the immediate transition from deterring aggression to armed conflict by conducting ISR operations and preparation of the environment in all domains and environments during competition 1 Physically joint and partner forces exercise regular changes in force posture combinations through exercises and tests to generate observable responses in the adversary’s systems e g IADS These responses enable friendly forces to identify critical paths of 34 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION vulnerability physical virtual and cognitive that the Joint Force can exploit in conflict Friendly forces also physically prepare the Close Area by employing arrays of camouflaged stay-behind sensors preparing key terrain and friendly urban areas for deliberate defenses in depth establishing clusters of logistics and weapons caches in Close and Support Areas and developing expeditionary operating bases in the Operational and Tactical Support Areas The Joint Force and its partners also physically set the theater through actions such as developing relationships with partner-nation governments and their security forces establishing basing and access rights prepositioning equipment and supplies creating a communications architecture developing baseline intelligence and emplacing an intelligence architecture These actions enhance conventional force deterrence against adversary aggression and enable rapid entry transition to operations and sustainment of friendly forces when needed 2 Virtually joint and partner forces map friendly and adversary use of the electromagnetic spectrum and computer networks to identify friendly vulnerabilities to protect and opportunities to exploit against the adversary This analysis includes identifying critical nodes that may need to be defended to retain freedom of action in cyberspace Joint and partner forces also establish and practice primary alternate and supplementary methods of communicating via different mediums in anticipation of a highly contested information environment in the Close and Deep Maneuver Areas These actions enable semi-independent forces to operate effectively partner forces to interoperate with U S forces and military forces to communicate with local police and friendly resistance organizations In terms of virtual resilience they field and practice using operational and intelligence databases and systems that do not require connection to a live network or rely on outside systems for PNT 3 Cognitively joint and partner forces prepare to operate in degraded and lethal environments often isolated and contested in all domains They prepare their leaders to execute mission orders and to converge capabilities across multiple domains to identify or create windows of advantage for their units or other joint and partner elements They enhance their forces’ and populations’ will to resist by aligning and sustaining their forces’ actions with their narratives and sustaining the congruence of actions and ideas both militarily and politically Additionally joint and partner forces make efforts to ensure the survival and continuity of the legitimate partner government to facilitate an eventual transition back to civilian authority in the return to competition following conflict 4 In the face of peer adversaries friendly preparation of the environment requires coordinated deliberate efforts over months and years The Joint Force and its partners capitalize on the physical virtual and cognitive freedom of action available in competition from the Close through the Strategic Support Areas to prepare for the transition to armed conflict Doing so enhances deterrence while setting conditions to transition to armed conflict and fight successfully to defeat aggression By thoroughly preparing the environment fielding resilient formations and being prepared to maneuver from operational and strategic depths within days the Joint Force and partners deter aggression and postures forces to fight and win in the event of armed conflict 35 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 3-5 Defeat the enemy in armed conflict a Forward positioned and expeditionary U S October War 1973 Armed Conflict Successful deception operations and ground forces in cooperation with other joint forces enhanced capacities enabled Egyptian and partners defeat the enemy in armed conflict by forces to achieve initial success against the simultaneously maneuvering through the contested Israeli Defense Forces IDF in the Sinai Forward-positioned and rapidly integrated Support Areas from strategic and operational depths reinforcing IDF forces however and with sufficient combat power in time to defeat maneuvered in contact to develop the enemy forces conducting deep maneuver in the situation and detect create and exploit vulnerabilities in enemy systems often at physical domains to suppress and destroy enemy ISRgreat cost Using multiple options to attack strike and integrated air defense systems and enabling Egyptian systems in little more than two 34 ground forces to defeat the enemy in close combat weeks the IDF recovered positions of advantage for a transition and return to By converging combinations of physical virtual and competition on favorable terms cognitive capabilities at different places on the expanded battlespace U S and partner forces defeat the adversary’s aggression Successful execution of these tasks will deny the adversary’s initial objectives of the fait accompli campaign seize key positions and establish a prepared defense and position friendly forces to achieve favorable and sustainable outcomes in support of U S strategic objectives b Presenting enemy systems with multiple dilemmas or defeat mechanisms physically virtually and cognitively seizes the initiative places the enemy on the defensive and allows the Joint Force and its partners to identify vulnerabilities and converge capabilities to create and exploit windows of advantage more rapidly than the enemy can react At the outset of armed conflict the Joint Force and its partners maneuver semi-independently while in contact throughout the expanded battlespace forcing and winning a meeting engagement with the enemy Friendly maneuver is enabled by and subsequently enables active reconnaissance in all domains Friendly forces seek information with regard to enemy dispositions capabilities and intentions through a combination of passive observations coupled with probes or pulses to gauge enemy reactions The goal is to enable reconnaissance to identify opportunities for windows of advantage to support maneuver avoid enemy strengths and identify gaps through reconnaissance The Joint Force and partners however must be prepared to maneuver in contact without a fully developed understanding of the enemy’s dispositions Maneuver allows friendly forces to avoid enemy strengths such as its fires systems and to exploit vulnerabilities such as its tactical decision making Converging multiple combinations of capabilities from forwardpositioned and expeditionary forces to gain and maintain contact with the ISR-strike ground maritime and integrated air defense systems on favorable terms prevents the enemy from accomplishing objectives and setting defenses within days of beginning armed conflict c Once engaged the Joint Force and its partners converge capabilities to enable maneuver from many locations simultaneously against the enemy exploiting identified enemy vulnerabilities or developing the situation to detect vulnerabilities in the enemy’s systems rather than methodically building combat power or preparing the battlespace with intelligence and 34 In armed conflict against a peer competitor all movement can be contested and must be planned and executed as maneuver 36 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION fires 35 Understanding the interconnected purposes of attacking each enemy system contributes to realizing mission command that allows the Joint Force and partners to shift efforts rapidly to retain the initiative Defeating the enemy’s ISR through active and passive countersurveillance reconnaissance across multiple domains creates a cognitive window of advantage that degrades the effectiveness of its strike systems and allows friendly operations to achieve surprise against enemy ground forces maritime forces and IADS Defeating or suppressing the enemy’s strike system prevents the enemy from fracturing the operations of forwardpositioned friendly forces and opens windows of advantage to echelon expeditionary forces into the operational theater Defeating or suppressing the enemy’s IADS opens windows of advantage for maneuver in the air domain against strike systems ground forces and maritime forces Defeating enemy maritime forces prevents the enemy from projecting power from the sea into the air maritime or ground domain—in some theaters it is the only means of accomplishing objectives Additionally the defeat of enemy maritime forces provides an advantage to maneuver naval forces in support of the JFC objectives Defeating enemy ground forces in the Close Area fractures enemy operations by forcing it to culminate prior to accomplishing its objectives preventing it from establishing a prepared defense and allowing friendly forces to exploit success in the Close Area to attack the enemy’s strike systems and IADS in the Deep Maneuver Area The Joint Force and partners achieve objectives by converging capabilities to open windows of advantage to create the conditions for maneuver that defeats or bypasses enemy systems enabling friendly forces to achieve positions or conditions for a favorable conclusion of armed conflict Actions to minimize vulnerabilities preparedness to mitigate effects and continue operations an array of response options and an effective IEO narrative help to deter the use of nuclear weapons Rapidly reducing the enemy’s capacity to resist and retaining retaking key terrain contributes to an IEO narrative that enables translation of military results into political objectives for a sustainable outcome in the return to competition d Defeating the ISR-strike system The enemy relies on its ISR-strike system to delay friendly echelonment of forces and attack critical friendly capabilities Its ISR-strike system is dependent however on timely reconnaissance sufficient logistics support adequate C4ISR and protection from IADS and ground forces The Joint Force and its partners defeat the enemy’s ISR-strike system by attacking these vulnerabilities with resilient forward-positioned and expeditionary follow-on forces and create freedom of maneuver by converging capabilities to open physical virtual and cognitive windows in enemy defenses The goal is to create conditions where friendly forces can see but not be seen The Joint Force and its partners posture forces operate semi-independently linked by a common purpose and converge capabilities to defeat enemy ISR activities largely active in the Support Areas to produce a cognitive window of advantage that delays the enemy’s decisions disrupts its targeting cycle defends locations and formations from strikes deceives the enemy into expending munitions against false targets and inhibits its massing of fires to create friendly maneuver space The Joint Force and its partners exploit the cognitive window of advantage by converging capabilities to suppress or destroy the enemy’s strike system primarily located in the Deep Maneuver and Deep Fires Areas 35 Initial battle plan responses to enemy attacks likely will need to be scripted and rehearsed however these response options should be flexible so the Joint Force and its partners can adapt the situation to respond effectively 37 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 1 Defeating ISR Efforts to defeat enemy ISR can generally be aligned in one of three categories defeating the sensor defeating the platform and defeating the information stream Resilient formations operate semi-independently in the Support Areas and converge capabilities enabling passive and active counter-reconnaissance that defeat the enemy’s ISR assets that support its operational strike system These resilient forward-positioned and expeditionary follow-on formations execute semi-independent maneuver as a means to defeat the enemy’s ISR by reducing signatures EMS physical and virtual and employing deception measures and obscuration displacing and maneuvering dispersed without a requirement for concentrated sustainment or time-consuming joint reception staging onward movement and integration RSOI activities Active counter-reconnaissance and protection measures defeat the enemy’s technical ISR activities with space offensive cyberspace when sufficient preparation time is available air defense and EW capabilities to disrupt and degrade technical collection and communications between reconnaissance platforms and firing units Friendly air and missile defense networks protect formations and locations from the enemy’s aerial reconnaissance in the Tactical and Operational Support Areas Active counter-reconnaissance operations conducted by police counterintelligence SOF and conventional forces secure friendly Support Areas against enemy UW and SOF human reconnaissance assets by defending high-value targets vulnerable populations leadership bases and civil infrastructure producing actionable intelligence and taking offensive action to destroy enemy UW networks operating in the friendly Support Areas Successful counter-reconnaissance produces a cognitive window of advantage because the enemy cannot be certain of friendly locations or the effectiveness of its strikes Successful counter-reconnaissance forces the enemy to either expend greater amounts of limited munitions and expose more assets to friendly counterattack or conserve its strike systems and allow the Joint Force and its partners greater freedom of maneuver 2 Defeating strike systems 36 The Joint Force and its partners converge maneuver reconnaissance and fires capabilities to gain and maintain contact with the strike system converge capabilities to open windows of advantage that allow freedom of maneuver in the Deep Maneuver and Deep Fires Areas and defeat or suppress the strike system using multiple combinations of capabilities to present the enemy with multiple dilemmas 37 The Joint Force and its partners conduct reconnaissance and maneuver throughout the expanded battlespace in the Support and Close Areas as well as Deep Areas to gain and maintain contact with the enemy’s strike system The Joint Force and its partners then converge capabilities to open physical virtual or cognitive windows in enemy ground air maritime space and or cyber defenses that protect enemy strike systems in the Deep Maneuver and Deep Fires Areas 38 Finally the Joint Force and its partners employ multiple combinations of capabilities in all domains to suppress and ultimately defeat the strike systems creating windows of advantage to exploit through continued maneuver against enemy strike systems or to enable maneuver against 36 The enemy’s strike system is composed of missile launchers missiles sustainment functions command nodes and communications networks as well as computer hardware software and programmers executing offensive cyber 37 While conventional physical maneuver in the Deep Fires Areas may not possible friendly forces may attack there virtually and cognitively or with other unconventional means 38 Other aspects of protection and actions against the enemy strike system that do not occur in the Deep Areas include friendly forces converging defensive UW capabilities police counterintelligence special operations forces and conventional forces to defeat enemy UW assault cells in the Support Areas and maritime capabilities to detect and destroy enemy submarines that threaten the Operational and Strategic Support Areas with submarine-launched cruise missiles against land and other weapons against shipping Additional protection measures include hardening civil targets and preparing civil populations against enemy strikes and setting IEO conditions for such strikes to be seen as unprovoked rather than justified 38 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION ground forces maritime forces or IADS This approach is the primary mechanism to attack the enemy’s critical fires system capabilities a The Joint Force and its partner forces gain and maintain contact with the enemy’s strike system by maneuvering semi-independently throughout the expanded battlespace Friendly maneuver in the Support and Close Areas forces the enemy to react with strikes— exposing or expending components of its strike system against resilient formations and protected targets—or risks allowing the Joint Force and its partners to gain positions of advantage Friendly capabilities calibrated in sufficient capacity posture to detect signatures and counterattack the enemy’s strike systems Friendly air and missile defense networks also protect critical facilities and maneuver forces against enemy strike systems To supplement maneuver in the Support and Close Areas a variety of friendly reconnaissance capabilities gain access to the Deep Areas maintain overwatch of reconnaissance objectives avoid or defeat enemy contact transmit information and self-sustain for periods of time up to weeks 39 Gaining and maintaining access to the Deep Areas in armed conflict is difficult therefore force posture is calibrated to take advantage of the best friendly understanding of the enemy strike system’s dispositions at the beginning of armed conflict 40 b The Joint Force and its partners gain freedom of maneuver in the Deep Maneuver and Deep Fires Areas by converging capabilities to open physical virtual or cognitive windows in enemy ground air maritime or cyber defenses protecting enemy strike systems 41 Converging capabilities to open windows of advantage for maneuver in the Deep Areas may require a significant amount of preparation time if counter-space offensive cyber and UW capabilities are employed and will require complex planning execution time alignment while the duration of windows of advantage in the Deep Areas is limited due to the strength of enemy defenses Resilient mission command systems integrate preparation planning execution and duration timelines to converge capabilities such as dedicated ground and sea-based lethal and nonlethal fires manned and unmanned aircraft operating from operational and strategic distances ground maneuver forces maritime combatants and amphibious forces and offensive cyberspace to suppress enemy defenses and open windows of advantage in the Deep Maneuver Area Range strength of enemy defenses and the required authorizations limit friendly capabilities available to operate in the Deep Fires Areas so friendly forces generally can only suppress rather than fully destroy enemy strike systems located there c The Joint Force and its partner forces employ multiple combinations of capabilities to suppress or defeat the strike systems presenting the enemy with multiple dilemmas or defeat mechanisms and creating windows of advantage to exploit with continued maneuver against enemy strike systems ground forces maritime forces or IADS Presenting multiple dilemmas 39 Friendly reconnaissance platforms oriented on or operating in the Deep Areas include air platforms manned and unmanned space-based platforms cyber reconnaissance ground-based platforms autonomous sensors radars signals intercept UW networks small robot-enhanced teams and ground maneuver formations and maritime surface and subsurface platforms Some important friendly capabilities e g cyberspace UW reconnaissance assets intelligence exploitation require extended preparation time in competition to gain access to enemy systems in the Deep Areas Friendly forces in the Deep Areas will need to operate semi-independently for periods ranging from minutes e g aircraft to weeks e g special operations 40 For example prior to hostilities pre-positioned equipment will be dispersed protected and or moved outside of the range of known enemy fires capabilities and SOF can develop networks in the Deep Areas that would enable UW operations 41 Maneuver in the Deep Maneuver Area may be limited to cognitive and virtual activities if physical activities are too restricted 39 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION prevents the enemy from concentrating to counter a single method or limited number and allows friendly forces to retain the initiative 42 Friendly forces present multiple campaign dilemmas to the enemy by maneuvering in contact with its strike system and suppressing protective IADS ground forces and maritime forces The rapid pace of friendly expeditionary maneuver and semi-independent operations requires the enemy to expose its strike systems to increased friendly counterattack or allow friendly forces to maneuver more freely Additionally semi-independent maneuver and friendly air and missile defense networks lessen the effectiveness of individual strikes and force the enemy to spread offensive combat power against a larger number of dynamic targets or concentrate striking power against a smaller number of lower-payoff targets Although the enemy’s strike platforms positioned in the Deep Fires Areas will be difficult to destroy in most cases suppressing the strike system not only opens windows of advantage for friendly maneuver but also exposes vulnerabilities in the enemy’s IADS ground and maritime forces that can be exploited to accomplish campaign objectives Possessing multiple friendly alternatives to attack each enemy system presents the enemy with several vulnerabilities within systems or related components to protect against e Defeating the integrated air defense system IADS 1 The Joint Force and its partners converge many of the same capabilities to suppress or defeat enemy IADS that are used against the enemy’s strike systems in the Deep Maneuver and Deep Fires Areas but for a different purpose Short-duration suppression of enemy IADS provides friendly forces with windows of advantage to employ reconnaissance and other air capabilities against enemy strike systems ground forces and maritime surface combatants As with attacking the enemy’s strike systems using multiple friendly capabilities to suppress or destroy IADS increases vulnerabilities and forces the enemy to employ additional resources to protect this system These capabilities also provide the Joint Force and its partners multiple options to open windows of advantage in the air domain 2 While IADS is a critical capability that enable the enemy’s strike system ground maneuver and maritime surface maneuver the sophistication density and resiliency of defenses in the Deep Fires Areas generally preclude a longer-duration physical window of advantage in the air domain When this occurs resilient ground forces capable of semi-independent maneuver can enable the Joint Force in the Deep Maneuver Area These forces can present ground-based dilemmas or defeat mechanisms to enemy ISR-strike system IADS ground forces and maritime forces This approach allows friendly forces to conduct operations without the necessity of defeating the enemy IADS at the outset of armed conflict f Defeating maritime forces In some theaters maritime maneuver offers the most advantageous and sometimes only means of projecting power in the maritime ground or air domain Projecting power from the sea requires naval forces to protect the sea lines of 42 For example initial success by friendly forces in the Close Area against enemy ground or maritime forces presents a physical window of advantage that allows the Joint Force and partners to avoid localized IADS and gain access to the Deep Maneuver Area or position fire support platforms to attack targets in the Deep Fires Areas In another example intelligence exploitation conducted in competition allows offensive cyber to spoof missile guidance programming operational fires to target known munitions caches at the outset of hostilities or launchers immediately upon cuing UW surveillance to be in position to monitor habitual launcher laager sites and leave strike platforms supported by suppression of enemy air defense capabilities as required to dynamically target strike system command nodes and sustainment activities simultaneously targeting multiple aspects of the enemy fires system 40 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION communications SLOC and establish sea control in the littoral areas Retaining or seizing key littoral terrain to include expeditionary advanced bases EAB in support of sea control and ground maneuver supports the Joint Force’s objectives of assured access power projection and protection of friendly ground forces from enemy naval attacks surface subsurface air and cyberspace while it also increases options for the commander to attack the enemy’s critical vulnerabilities 1 At the outset of armed conflict forward-postured forces will conduct operations to enable expeditionary maneuver of follow-on forces in days protect SLOCs air lines of communications ALOC aerial ports of debarkation APOD and sea ports of debarkation SPOD with airframes from maritime platforms and EABs establish sea control in the littorals and project power in support of ground combat operations toward the seizure of operational objectives Secure SLOCs ALOCs APODs and SPODs are critical to the timely introduction of forward-deployed forces expeditionary follow-on forces and sustainment As with land forces naval forces will converge joint and partner capabilities to establish windows of advantage in and from the maritime domain in support of sea control and power projection 2 To establish sea control in contested littorals and project power naval forces will converge joint capabilities to establish windows of advantage to bypass or defeat enemy ISR IADS including against anti-ship cruise missiles subsurface threats mine warfare fast-inshore attack craft electronic warfare attacks and cyber-attacks Converging capabilities as described in section 3-5a and 3-5b in the littoral areas will open physical virtual and cognitive windows of advantage for naval air and ground forces throughout the operational area to maneuver against enemy critical vulnerabilities The integration of amphibious raids and assaults by naval forces with the maneuver of landward forces in the littorals provides the Joint Force Commander land-based support to defeat sea-denial efforts by enemy forces EABs enable naval air and ground operations within days of conflict initiation Forces establish and execute EAB missions through occupation or forcible entry with formations which can conduct and support crossdomain fires in support of sea control and denial power projection and sustainment operations g Defeating ground formations Forward-positioned and expeditionary forces converge capabilities to defeat the enemy’s ground offensives at the outset of armed conflict to prevent it from achieving campaign objectives and establishing a prepared defense U S ground forces maneuver on land in the air and on water to take advantage of complex terrain where possible to detect and exploit enemy vulnerabilities and to avoid becoming fixed and then destroyed by enemy fires The Joint Force and its partners defeat enemy reconnaissance conduct aggressive reconnaissance and maneuver to identify gaps in enemy defenses suppress the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system to isolate enemy ground forces and exploit success through joint maneuver in the Close and Deep Maneuver Areas 1 Defeating the enemy’s reconnaissance – air primarily unmanned aircraft systems UAS ground UW assets and conventional units EMS space and cyberspace – reduces the effects of its tactical indirect fires against friendly support sustainment and mission command capabilities which prevents the enemy from defeating friendly ground maneuver forces in detail Defeating enemy reconnaissance in the Close Area however requires resilient Joint Force and 41 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION partner formations employing greater tactical air defenses due to the threat from inexpensive enemy tactical UASs and protection from enemy direct fires due to threats from increasingly lethal maneuver units to operate semi-independently in the Close Area These passive and active counter-reconnaissance capabilities converge to produce physical and occasionally virtual when cyberspace or offensive EW is used to spoof temporarily degrade or disrupt an enemy sensor or communication windows of advantage that reduce the enemy’s understanding of friendly dispositions Reducing the enemy leadership’s understanding of friendly dispositions creates a cognitive window of advantage for friendly forces to act and exploit faster than the enemy can react 2 Friendly reconnaissance identifies gaps in the enemy’s disposition to defeat tactical indirect fires by suppressing components of the system or bypassing its effects Physical and in some cases virtual gaps in enemy dispositions represent windows of advantage for friendly forces to exploit requiring little or no capability convergence Although capable of accessing the full range of Joint Force reconnaissance capabilities friendly ground forces rely predominantly on organic reconnaissance capabilities to detect windows of advantage 43 Organic reconnaissance units capable of operating semi-independently for days or weeks for unmanned platforms and in combination sensing and fighting in all domains detect enemy tactical indirect fires system signatures and windows of advantage for maneuver 44 Resilient mission command nodes synthesize this information into intelligence leading to operations that combine lethal and nonlethal fires and maneuver capabilities to exploit or create windows of advantage that suppress the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system 3 The Joint Force and its partners defeat the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system by suppressing components of the system and maneuvering faster than the enemy’s fires can react Resilient friendly ground formations maneuver semi-independently along multiple dispersed axes enabled by cross-domain capabilities to exploit a window of advantage or develop an unknown situation for several days without waiting for a complete intelligence picture disorganization of the enemy’s defenses by fires or possession of continuous lines of communications Unlike the enemy ISR-strike system the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system employs massed fires uses technologically simple systems and a virtually endless supply of “dumb” munitions These characteristics allow the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system to service many targets but offer fewer vulnerable components for friendly forces to attack Friendly indirect fires therefore suppress the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system to create specific windows of advantage in time and space that enable friendly ground force maneuver rather than defeating the system with lethal and nonlethal fires alone Combining the cognitive window of advantage produced by friendly counter-reconnaissance with physical and virtual windows of advantage detected by friendly reconnaissance or created by friendly maneuver allows friendly ground forces to outmaneuver the enemy’s preplanned fires and destroy his ISRstrike and IADS in the Close and Deep Maneuver Areas 43 This resiliency is necessary because creating physical and virtual windows of advantage for effective air-based platforms consumes extensive Joint Force capacity while limited-capacity national-level space- and cyber-based platforms require extensive preparation time 44 Reconnaissance capabilities organic to ground formations at various echelons include combinations of autonomous sensors UW assets manned sensors radars signals intercept cyber monitoring small human teams paired with robots and ground combined arms maneuver formations 42 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 4 Success against enemy ground forces in the Close Area allows the Joint Force and partners to present the enemy with additional dilemmas or defeat mechanisms Defeating the enemy’s tactical indirect fires system isolates enemy ground formations creating physical and cognitive windows of advantage for friendly ground forces to exploit through maneuver Maneuver forces exploit these windows of advantage to concentrate combat power against isolated enemy strongpoints or repulse the enemy main effort but can also disperse to infiltrate enemy defenses or maneuver against exposed flanks Friendly forces exploit these windows of advantage to close with and destroy isolated enemy formations in the Close Area or bypass isolated enemy forces to seize key terrain or defeat enemy IADS and strike systems in the Deep Maneuver Area a Friendly forces exploit the physical and cognitive windows of advantage created by defeating enemy reconnaissance and tactical indirect fires system to close with and destroy enemy ground formations seizing or retaining key terrain and destroying irreplaceable enemy capacity Ground forces exploit the cognitive window of advantage to react faster than an enemy isolated from its primary means of support Ground forces exploit the physical window of advantage maneuvering capabilities out of contact to arrive at exposed physical and virtual enemy gaps and seams at unexpected times Resilient ground maneuver formations employ capabilities lethal and nonlethal fires maneuver support reconnaissance sustainment mission command and intelligence organic to that echelon closing with and destroying enemy forces and seizing terrain with mobile protected and lethal maneuver formations In order to operate semi-independently maneuver formations at each echelon require sufficient supporting capabilities to close with the anticipated enemy ground force even when not the higher echelon’s main effort b Friendly forces exploit the physical and cognitive windows of advantage created by defeating enemy reconnaissance and tactical indirect fires system in the Close Area to bypass isolated enemy ground formations and seize key terrain or defeat enemy IADS and strike systems in the Deep Maneuver Area Ground forces exploit success in the Close Area by maneuvering on the ground through air on water to seize key terrain in the Deep Maneuver Area blocking lines of communications securing population centers or infrastructure reinforcing UW operations or seizing advanced positions for land- and air-based reconnaissance and operational fires Alternately ground forces exploit success in the Close Area to attack components of the enemy’s strike system and IADS Ground forces can close with and destroy components of these systems employ organic fires or secure key physical areas ground air maritime EMS for longer durations to enable Joint Force maneuver Friendly ground formations in the Deep Maneuver Area however must be capable of semi-independent operations for up to one week because the enemy will take actions to close friendly windows of advantage Sustaining independent operations for this period of time will require organic ability within friendly ground formations to generate or conserve classes of supply c Semi-independent maneuver requires joint sustainment forces to pre-position generate procure or transport essential supplies and services to formations organized to 43 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION maneuver in austere conditions 45 Stores and facilities are dispersed camouflaged redundant and or mobile while sustainment forces possess the resiliency to counter enemy capabilities in the areas Support Areas Close Areas and Deep Areas where they are expected to operate Additionally formations at all echelons include the requisite organic sustainment capabilities to support semi-independent maneuver 5 Defeating enemy ground formations in the Close Area produces several dilemmas for the enemy that threaten the viability of its system of systems Initial success against the enemy’s ground forces in the Close Area prevents the enemy’s system from operating as it is designed to achieve objectives rapidly Friendly success in the initial days of the campaign prevent the enemy from establishing a prepared defense that conceals vulnerabilities in its fires sustainment maneuver and command and control systems Defeating enemy ground forces also provides friendly forces additional defeat mechanisms to apply against enemy strike systems IADS and maritime forces To overcome these setbacks the enemy must mobilize or shift additional forces which takes time or exposes other areas direct operational fires to reinforce the effort in the Close Area which makes friendly freedom of maneuver and expeditionary maneuver easier or escalate the conflict with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass effect which poses great risk for only limited gains 6 SOF capabilities in armed conflict require preparatory efforts during competition Indigenous combat power developed during competition provides the ability to attack enemy command and control nodes air defense systems and lines of communications with and through partner forces Populations prepared cognitively earlier can now be mobilized to act through demonstrations work force strikes social discord and reporting on enemy activities to support intelligence and targeting processes SOF units can support and in some cases conduct joint forcible entry operations to establish airheads or beachheads for follow-on conventional forces Precision targeting operations can be used to suppress or collapse threat or proxy networks through deliberate targeting of critical nodes in the enemy’s UW IW IADS and command and control infrastructures especially those located in the Deep Fires Areas SOF can be employed to deceive the enemy and shape the IEO narrative in support of U S and partner objectives h Deterring the use of weapons of mass destruction WMD The Joint Force and its partners must deter escalation of violence beyond acceptable levels When the enemy suffers significant conventional losses it may assess that escalating the conflict by employing weapons of mass destruction effect or disruption could recapture the initiative or drive policymakers to the negotiation table to end the conflict on more favorable terms Enemies may also use tactical nuclear weapons if presented an appropriate target contributing to the attainment of operational or strategic objectives The Joint Force can employ capabilities to counter WMD such as curtailing sharing capabilities with proxies but actions taken directly against the enemy’s systems should not risk escalation through a perceived “use it or lose it” situation To deter use of tactical nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction disruption such as an electromagnetic pulse or chemical biological radiological or toxic industrial chemical material attack the Joint Force and its partners must conduct an effective IEO campaign on the dangers 45 Austere and contested conditions will create challenges to providing supplies and services such as evacuating large numbers of casualties rapidly and safely 44 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION of employing WMD minimize vulnerabilities and demonstrate the ability to continue operations if attacked If deterrence fails to preclude a tactical weapon of mass destruction or disruption attack the Joint Force must rapidly counter with IEO aimed at sustaining the alliance and isolating the enemy internationally and regionally To further deter enemy use against U S and allied forces the homeland or allied civilian targets U S forces must maintain and exercise the use of an array of conventional and unconventional options not precluded by treaty to deter escalation i Information environment operations IEO in armed conflict As an essential component of their scheme of maneuver commanders determine where and when to create cognitive windows of advantage and converge the appropriate physical and virtual capabilities to influence these populations All formations contribute to creating the friendly IEO narrative The operations described above against enemy military systems in armed conflict are therefore actions that enable an effective IEO campaign 46 Cognitive perception and physical results are carefully balanced in maintaining an effective IEO narrative 47 An effective IEO campaign translates the defeat of enemy forces and retention seizure of key terrain into cognitive windows in the minds of enemy and friendly forces political leadership and populations These cognitive windows enable Joint Force maneuver and ultimately lead to the attainment of political objectives j Achieve conditions for a favorable conclusion of armed conflict The Joint Force and its partners present the enemy with multiple dilemmas to defeat its forces in armed conflict Multiple defeat mechanisms threaten vulnerabilities in individual enemy systems ISR-strike IADS maritime forces ground forces while friendly forces shift the priority of attacking a system or systems to achieve maximum physical and cognitive effect on the enemy Intelligence is critical to enable friendly forces to detect and develop these enemy vulnerabilities completely for rapid and efficient exploitation and ISR must be actively pursued both prior to and during hostilities When friendly ISR is incomplete friendly forces maneuver to develop the situation detecting and exploiting enemy vulnerabilities while in contact with the enemy Friendly forces employ principally physical defeat mechanisms to destroy irreplaceable enemy units ground maritime ISR-strike IADS and retain or retake key terrain that results in a favorable position sustainable over the long term and conducive to translation into political success through a negotiated settlement or strengthened alliance 46 Information warfare is an aspect of Multi-Domain Battle for all forces and commanders to consider and not a proposed separate functional grouping for friendly capabilities and staffs 47 Balancing cognitive perception and physical results sometimes leads commanders to favor physically inefficient or difficult approaches over more direct or destructive options in order to maximize the cognitive IEO effect on a targeted population In other instances however an effective IEO narrative requires a more destructive and violent approach to influence a targeted audience In Multi-Domain Battle IEO integrates and builds upon combat results rather than offering an alternative to fighting the enemy 45 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 3-6 Return to competition to maintain a favorable position a In a conflict with a nuclear-capable enemy it is unlikely that successful armed conflict operations will lead to a decisive victory or definitive political settlement Complete destruction of an enemy’s conventional forces may not be possible and creates a high risk of escalation that may be politically undesirable If enemy and friendly forces find they can no longer achieve strategic objectives through operational maneuver the campaign returns to competition Because the enemy will still likely retain operationally significant forces capable of fomenting internal strife in friendly-controlled areas or presenting an external threat in a return to competition the Joint Force and its partners must compete to maintain and improve the favorable positions achieved in armed conflict A return to competition differs from pre-conflict competition because friendly forces will be in contact with enemy forces and or their proxies and the level of violence can be considerable until a political agreement can be reached In a return to competition the Joint Force and its partners compete to maintain and improve conditions favorable to the U S and allied governments Establishing these conditions entails deterring a return to armed conflict isolating the territory from the adversary’s external influence and helping the supported partner nation restore security in “liberated” areas b At the conclusion of armed conflict the Joint Force and partners defeat the adversary’s renewed subversion campaign and return to competition on enduringly favorable terms by contesting the adversary’s renewed subversion campaign reconnaissance UW and IW deterring any return to armed conflict and strengthening and restoring partner capabilities and capacities These efforts maintain alliances and partner-nation political systems amid internal and external physical virtual and cognitive instability and continued contact with a weakened but still capable and determined adversary Transitioning from conflict to the terms of negotiated settlement the Joint Force and partners rapidly consolidate gains especially by controlling ongoing pockets of violence and broader areas of physical and virtual insecurity As in competition friendly forces converge military capabilities both lethal and nonlethal with political actions to defeat the adversary’s aggression short of armed conflict In a return to competition friendly forces de-escalate the physical virtual and cognitive violence and insecurity in ways that improve the friendly security environment and protect alliance cohesion while preventing any re-escalation back to armed conflict The return to competition is facilitated by the return of the legitimate government from exile c Contest the adversary’s renewed subversion campaign reconnaissance UW IW The Joint Force and partners contest the adversary’s critical systems that enable its renewed subversion campaign relying on the methods in competition outlined in 3-4 with three distinctions First in the IEO campaign friendly forces take the virtual and cognitive offensive to attribute responsibility for the conflict on the aggressor highlighting the adversary’s ongoing efforts to foment unrest They also cognitively reinforce the legitimacy of the partner’s political systems and the alliances through virtual and physical means Joint and partner forces will identify critical nodes both physical and in cyberspace that ensure the IEO campaign retains the right capacity and modalities to ensure the campaign reaches the desired audience Second Joint Force and partner UW and counter-reconnaissance forces enable the friendly IEO campaign They create windows of advantage by anticipating and continuously contesting the adversary’s 46 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION UW and reconnaissance activities that perpetuate physical violence and cognitive resistance in the partner’s homeland Joint Force and partner UW and counter-reconnaissance physical and virtual actions directly challenge those destabilizing actions creating virtual and cognitive windows for the friendly IEO campaign to achieve its aims in the relative instability during a return to competition Third the Joint Force and partners re-establish physical virtual and cognitive security of their critical military and civilian systems many of which have been breached and attacked by the enemy during armed conflict They identify and eliminate the adversary’s stay-behind virtual and physical tools e g latent cyberspace weapons and hidden ISR systems while also defeating the adversary’s renewed attempts to penetrate facilities and networks physically and virtually in the return to competition gaining new placement and access as joint and partner forces are consolidating gains By immediately returning to competition and contesting the adversary’s renewed subversion efforts the Joint Force and partners sustain the competitive advantage and strengthen partner political systems and alliances d Deter a return to armed conflict Joint and partner forces manage the highly fragile security environment and deter the still-potent adversary similarly to competition outlined in section 3-4 with three areas of emphasis First the Joint Force and partners remain forwardpostured at higher levels immediately following armed conflict to provide an instantaneous challenge to the adversary’s remaining A2 AD capabilities should it choose to re-activate them Second over time the Joint Force in consideration of partners’ capabilities and capacities in the return to competition sustains regional security by calibrating and re-calibrating force posture to deter the adversary physically and virtually from employing its own conventional capabilities again Third the Joint Force continues to demonstrate through exercises and tests its ability to immediately contest spaces and open physical and virtual windows across the expanded battlespace to maneuver from operational and strategic distances In a return to competition the degraded adversary still retains significant capabilities and capacities to challenge the security environment Because it considers a return to armed conflict as one means to achieve its ends the Joint Force and its partners immediately take actions to return to competition actively and continuously deterring armed aggression e Restore and strengthen partner capabilities The Joint Force reinforces its partnerships and alliances by immediately taking physical and virtual actions to restore and strengthen the partner nation s ’ security forces The rapidity with which the Joint Force physically and virtually assists the supported partner nation to restore internal security and re-establish functioning safety economic and communication systems provides a cognitive window to enable the friendly IEO as well as improve effectiveness of deterrent actions Key Joint Force capabilities that converge to accomplish these actions include SOF security force assistance civil affairs medical and communications The Joint Force will also coordinate activities with other interorganizational partners such as the U S Department of State the U S Agency for International Development and other U S government agencies non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental agencies The Joint Force also enables the supported partner nation to rapidly regain the ability to defend against the adversary’s aggression both conventionally and unconventionally Conventionally the Joint Force assists the supported partner nation to re-establish physical and virtual defenses that contribute to deterrence and strengthen the alliance Unconventionally the Joint Force enables the supported partner nation’s 47 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION special operations to rebuild its capabilities and capacities to contest subversion In a return to competition the Joint Force provides high levels of both physical and virtual support and may often be in the lead to enable direct action Finally the Joint Force restores and strengthens the supported partner nation by enabling interorganizational efforts to rebuild and defend infrastructure and institutions as a means of protecting common security interests These physical and virtual operations create cognitive and physical effects that restore and strengthen friendly systems and partner capabilities overall f By rapidly returning from armed conflict to competition U S forces partners and allies are able to establish the new security environment on favorable terms by contesting the adversary unconventionally and deterring it conventionally It also assists the partner to restore its own internal security These actions reinforce the consolidation of gains re-establish deterrence on favorable terms and pre-emptively challenge the adversary’s return to campaigns of insurgency subversion destabilization and intimidation by addressing the physical virtual and cognitive aspects of a return to competition They also enable the Joint Force and partners to retain friendly freedom of action and to strengthen friendly partner political systems and alliances Chapter 4 Conclusion a Multi-Domain Battle is fundamentally about how U S forces will deter and defeat adversary strategies below the level of armed conflict and when necessary fight and win to overcome rapidly evolving challenges posed by powerful and intelligent peer rivals This concept allows U S forces to outmaneuver adversaries physically virtually and cognitively applying combined arms in and across all domains It provides a flexible means to present multiple dilemmas to an enemy by converging capabilities from multiple domains to create windows of advantage enabling friendly forces to seize retain and exploit the initiative to defeat enemies and achieve campaign objectives Employing the ideas in this concept the Joint Force can credibly deter adversary aggression defeat actions short of armed conflict deny the enemy freedom of action overcome enemy defenses control terrain compel outcomes and consolidate gains for sustainable results b This concept drives development of solution sets that can overcome the problems of future conflict in 2025-2040 It aims to promote discussion drive experimentation and inform the development and refinement of future warfighting capabilities Building on current service and joint doctrine Multi-Domain Battle aids the evolution of current doctrine to include not only those capabilities of the physical domains but also those affecting space cyberspace the electromagnetic spectrum the information environment and the cognitive dimension of warfare It provides recommendations of capabilities commanders might require to defeat an advanced enemy and proposes a new framework for understanding the expansion of the 21st Century battlespace Multi-Domain Battle is necessary for U S forces together with allies and other partners to successfully deter and win future conflict 48 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Appendix A References Section I Required References Army regulations Department of the Army DA pamphlets field manuals Army doctrine publications ADP Army doctrine reference publications ADRP and DA forms are available at Army Publishing Directorate home page http www usapa army mil TRADOC publications and forms are available at TRADOC Publications home page at http www tradoc army mil tpubs Joint pubs are available on the Joint Electronic Library at http www dtic mil doctrine new_pubs jointpub_operations htm or https jdeis js mil jdeis index jsp pindex 0 Army-Marine Corps Multi-Domain Battle Combined Arms for the 21st Century White Paper 2017 January 18 Joint Operating Environment 2035 The Joint Force in a Contested and Disordered World TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-0 The U S Army Capstone Concept TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1 The U S Army Operating Concept Win in a Complex World AOC Section II Related References A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower ADP 1-01 Air Force Future Operating Concept Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan Annual Report to Congress Military and Security Development Involving the People’s Republic of China 2015 2015 April 7 Retrieved from https www defense gov Portals 1 Documents pubs 2015_China_Military_Power_Report pdf Capstone Concept for Joint Operations Colby E A 2016 January 12 Russia’s Evolving Nuclear Doctrine and Its Implications Report Center for a New American Security Retrieved from http www cnas org russiaevolving-nuclear-doctrine# V4fGsDbr19A 49 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Colby E A 2015 November Countering Russian nuclear strategy in Central Europe In Frontline allies War and change in Central Europe The Center for European Policy Analysis 87-101 Retrieved from http www cnas org sites default files publications-pdf Bridge_SAGReport pdf Cross-Domain Synergy in Joint Operations Planners Guide – January 2016 Expeditionary Advanced Based Operations Fitzpatrick M 2016 February Asia’s Latent Nuclear Powers Japan South Korea and Taiwan International Institute for Strategic Studies Adelphi series Retrieved from http www iiss org en events events archive 2016-a3c2 march-1194 asias-latent-nuclearpowers-us-book-launch-2d5f FM 3-60 The Targeting Process FM 3-90-1 Offense and Defense Volume 1 Fruhling S Lasconjarias G 2016 March 21 NATO A2 AD and the Kaliningrad challenge Survival Magazine 58 2 95-116 Retrieved from https www iiss org en publications survival sections 2016-5e13 survival--global-politics-andstrategy-april-may-2016-eb2d 58-2-07-fruhling-and-lasconjarias-de87 Gerson M 2009 “Conventional Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age ” Parameters Quarterly Journal of the U S Army War College Retrieved from http strategicstudiesinstitute army mil pubs parameters Articles 09autumn gerson pdf Grau L W Bartles C K 2017 July The Russian Way of War Force Structure Tactics and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces Foreign Military Studies Office Retrieved from https community apan org wg tradoc-g2 fmso p fmso-bookshelf Grygiel J J Mitchell A W 2016 February 23 The Unquiet Frontier Rising rivals vulnerable allies and the crisis of American power Princeton NJ Princeton University Press Retrieved from https sites google com site ebooktsr The-Unquiet-Frontier-Rising-RivalsVulnerable-Allies-and-the-Crisis-of-American-Power Grygiel J J 2015 Autumn Arming our allies The Case for offensive capabilities Parameters 45 3 39-49 Retrieved from http www strategicstudiesinstitute army mil pubs parameters issues Autumn_2015 7_Grygiel pdf Hickins K 2010 March-April Strategic mobility Army Sustainment 42 2 PB 700-10-02 Retrieved from http www alu army mil alog issues MarApr10 spectrum_strategy_mobility html 50 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Johnson D 2016 The Challenges of the “Now” and Their Implications for the U S Army RAND Retrieved from http www rand org pubs perspectives PE184 html Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons Joint Concept for Entry Operations Joint Concept for Human Aspects of Military Operations Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning Joint Operational Access Concept Kaber P Thibeault P 2016 May 13 Russia’s new-generation warfare Army Magazine Retrieved from http www armymagazine org 2016 05 13 russias-new-generation-warfare Lindsey E 2014 October “Beyond Coast Artillery Cross-Domain Denial and the Army” Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Retrieved from http csbaonline org publications 2014 10 beyond-coast-artillery-cross-domain-denial-and-thearmy Littoral Operations in Contested Environments Retrieved from https marinecorpsconceptsandprograms com concepts littoral-operationscontested-environment Marine Corps Operating Concept How an Expeditionary Force Operates in the 21st Century Paszewski T 2016 March 18 Can Poland defend itself Survival Magazine 58 2 117-134 Retrieved from http www iiss org en publications survival sections 2016-5e13 survival--globalpolitics-and-strategy-april-may-2016-eb2d 58-2-08-paszewski-02f0 Rinehart I E 2016 March The Chinese Military Overview and Issues for Congress Congressional Research Service Retrieved from https digital library unt edu ark 67531 metadc847539 m2 1 high_res_d R44196_2016Mar24 p df Romjue J 1984 June From Active Defense to AirLand Battle The Development of Army Doctrine 1973-1982 Historical Office U S Army Training and Doctrine Command Retrieved from https books google com books about From_active_defense_to_AirLand_Battle html id RqcZAAAAIAAJ Setting the Theater White Paper Future Army Forces at the Strategic and Operational Level TRADOC ARCIC Available upon request from the proponent 51 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Shlapak D and Johnson M 2016 “Reinforcing Deterrence on NATO’s Eastern Flank Wargaming the Defense of the Baltics” RAND Retrieved from https www rand org pubs research_reports RR1253 html Skinner D 1988 September AirLand Battle Doctrine Professional Paper 463 Center for Naval Analysis Retrieved from http www dtic mil cgi-bin GetTRDoc AD ADA202888 Location U2 doc GetTRDoc pdf Thomas J 2013 May-June “Why the U S Army Needs Missiles A New Mission to Save the Service ” Foreign Affairs 92 No 3 Retrieved from https www foreignaffairs com articles united-states 2013-04-03 why-us-army-needs-missiles Thomas T L 2007 Decoding the Virtual Dragon Critical Evolutions in the Science and Philosophy of China’s Information Operations and Military Strategy Foreign Military Studies Office Retrieved from https community apan org wg tradoc-g2 fmso p fmso-bookshelf Thomas T L 2016 May 2 Russia Military Strategy Impacting 21st Century Reform and Geopolitics Foreign Military Studies Office Retrieved from http fmso leavenworth army mil EPubs Epubs Thomas_Russian%20Military%20Strategy_Final_ 2%20May%202016 pdf Weitz R 2014 August “NATO Must Adapt to Counter Russia’s Next-Generation Warfare” World Politics Review Retrieved from http www worldpoliticsreview com articles 13976 nato-must-adapt-to-counter-russia-s-next-generation-warfare Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U S Intelligence Community Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 2016 February 9 Retrieved from http www intelligence senate gov sites default files wwt2016 pdf Appendix B Key required capabilities and supporting actions B-1 Introduction As this is a multi-Service effort these capabilities are broken out by the joint warfighting functions with “Engagement” added The capabilities and supporting actions presented in this section will allow the Joint Force to implement the three components of the solution • • • Evolve U S force posture to prevent adversary fait accompli campaigns Employ resilient formations that can maneuver semi-independently on the expanded battlespace Converge capabilities to create windows of advantage to enable maneuver B-2 Required capabilities and supporting actions The following is a list of key required capabilities and supporting actions to execute the ideas identified in this concept To conduct 52 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Multi-Domain Battle in a highly contested environment future ground combat forces require the following a Command and Control The capability to exercise mission command at all echelons in all conditions including denied and or degraded conditions such as disruptions to satellite line-of-sight and beyond-line of-site communications and PNT data to command and control dispersed operations Supporting actions detailed specific associated capabilities include the ability to 1 Apply the principles of mission command and converge cross-domain capabilities organic and partner while conducting semi-independent operations 2 Command and control distributed forces including while moving and maintain the C2 systems to maneuver forces and open or exploit windows of advantage 3 Access and apply information from joint and Service information systems and sensors to enable commanders to understand visualize describe and assess complex problems rapidly 4 Employ networks that are robust and self-healing providing access and information at the point of need for dispersed and distributed formations and interorganizational partners 5 Employ a combination of integrated and interoperable C4ISR systems and networks to enable joint and combined operations throughout the operational area 6 Employ C2 systems capable of rapidly exchanging information interfacing among components and functions and displaying common tactical and operational pictures of the Joint and Combined Force 7 Employ C2 and a common operational picture between land and naval forces operating in the littorals 8 Develop interoperability with partners through common tactics techniques and procedures when system interoperability is not practical 9 Composite integrate and provide command and control of task-organized formations e g task force task group task unit sourced from globally distributed forces based on mission requirements 10 Employ common collaborative and adaptable planning processes to meet demands of rapid deployment employment and enroute mission planning 11 Reliably access PNT information despite threat EMS or cyberspace attacks and during friendly EW operations 12 Gain and maintain assured access to space capabilities protect space assets and capabilities while maintaining the ability to degrade disrupt or deny the threat's access to space capabilities 13 Task organize to the lowest practical level with capabilities that enable multi-domain distributed or semi-independent operations minimizing the need for enablers from higher echelons of command 14 Exercise and employ standard coordinating and operating procedures that integrate critical forces such as SOF and joint enablers including cyber integrated air and missile defense ISR EW close air support etc to develop interoperability necessary for semiindependent operations at the tactical level 15 Continue operations despite loss of access to complex networks for short time periods to maintain operations in degraded and denied environments 53 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 16 Rapidly form maintain and operate highly capable joint interorganizational and multinational teams to provide strength to partner forces even when the U S is not the lead nation 17 Think individually and within teams across all domains and environments to achieve convergence of effects from all warfighting functions and other elements of national power 18 Conceptualize plan and execute operations organized across multiple windows of advantage planned or unplanned executed in both series and in parallel 19 Create deep trust within and across organizations quickly to support maximum delegation of authority risk acceptance and application of innovation and initiative 20 Continue operations through periods of both information isolation and overflow 21 Exercise initiative identify all categories of risks for assessment and mitigation to confidently operate under conditions of extreme stress 22 Train commanders and staffs at all echelons to execute the art and science of mission command to integrate the employment of converged capabilities of Service joint and partner forces operating dispersed 23 Detect and identify as friend or foe manned and unmanned systems operated by the Joint Force adversaries and third parties in all domains to expedite targeting cycles decisions at the lowest tactical levels 24 Employ smart systems and networks that detect adversary probing and intrusion and automatically apply appropriate active and passive cyberspace responses to increase the resilience of friendly forces b Intelligence The capability to attain the necessary situational understanding at the point of decision in all environments to enable making informed sound decisions rapidly Supporting actions include the ability to 1 Integrate intelligence from all domains and intelligence disciplines with operations under degraded electromagnetic spectrum conditions to support commanders’ situational understanding for decision making 2 Employ robotic and autonomous systems and artificial intelligence to conduct information collection and analysis to increase situational understanding in time and information-competitive environments 3 Share intelligence among allies and partners and provide accurate assessment of the environment to interorganizational partners to support commanders’ situational understanding in all operating environments 4 Provide space cyberspace EMS and information environment situational understanding to facilitate decision making maneuver planning collaboration and synchronization 5 Integrate a secure and robust intelligence architecture encompassing sensors platforms and organizations that is scalable and enables timely processing exploitation and dissemination with shared analytics distributed analysis and collaboration tools in conditions of limited bandwidth and network outages to support commanders’ situational understanding in all operating environments 54 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 6 Conduct continuous reconnaissance surveillance security and intelligence operations across all domains and within dense urban and complex terrain during competition and armed conflict 7 Conduct and support IEO UW and ISR during competition to support information collection and to deter escalation by adversaries 8 Develop situational awareness regarding threat missiles mines air defenses improvised explosive devices cyberspace capabilities and unmanned systems to enable rapid employment of friendly capabilities to exploit or open windows of advantage 9 Understand the operating environment to include military features natural and manmade terrain hydrography the “human terrain” in the area culture society economy technology and population concentration dispersion civilian traffic air sea and land the climate and regional weather patterns 10 Employ at the tactical level interoperable ground- and ship-launched recovered family of UAS for reconnaissance surveillance and attack missions that are interoperable with 5th generation aircraft to improve resilience and effectiveness of semi-independent formations 11 Conduct armed aerial reconnaissance from austere unprepared landing zones runwayindependent and maritime assets with improved speed payload endurance survivability reliability and maintainability to increase situation awareness of semi-independent formations 12 Conduct improved processing of multi-intelligence data including that from nontraditional sources such as social media blogs internet and periodical media to support deterrence and shaping operations short of armed conflict and during combat operations 13 Employ improved intelligence collection analysis and synthesis capabilities particularly with regard to understanding and characterizing human terrain the cognitive dimension and indications warnings for threats in competition 14 Create cross-domain synergy through complementary collection layers space aerial subsurface and terrestrial of Service and intelligence partner collectors to support commanders’ situational understanding in all operating environments 15 Integrate information collection across the Services and the intelligence enterprise to support commanders’ situational understanding in all operating environments c Movement and Maneuver The capability to conduct and support strategic operational and tactical maneuver along multiple axes of advance by land air and sea to contest aggression and defeat the enemy Supporting actions include the ability to 1 Create conditions designed to generate overmatch using mutually supporting capabilities across the air land maritime space and cyberspace domains to present multiple dilemmas to the enemy and enable the Joint Force to open and exploit windows of advantage and provide freedom of movement and action 2 Provide and integrate IEO understanding to facilitate maneuver planning collaboration and synchronization across competition and armed conflict 3 Conduct distributed operations maintaining the ability to rapidly aggregate and mass at decisive points to open and exploit windows of advantage 4 Conduct expeditionary maneuver and rapidly composite integrate arriving forces into formations engaged in the fight 55 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 5 Conduct expeditionary maneuver with sufficient speed payload endurance reliability maintainability and survivability and with the ability to operate in all environments 6 Conduct forcible entry operations raids amphibious assaults airfield seizures and other limited-objective operations to support the initiation of sustained land operations 7 Complement land air and maritime maneuver capabilities with maneuver in space cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum to mitigate information warfare attacks versus friendly command and control systems and support the opening and exploitation of windows of advantage in support of the friendly operations 8 Employ modular active platform protection systems to improve survivability and allow lighter combat vehicles and aircraft to enhance mobility and deployability of task-organized formations 9 Conduct intra-theater air movement and maneuver of combat-configured personnel and equipment from land or sea bases to austere or unprepared landing zones 10 Employ and closely integrate SOF with conventional forces to gain situational awareness and conduct direct action missions in support of maneuver during competition and armed conflict 11 Conduct countermobility operations to shape terrain and enhance the effects of natural and manmade obstacles to deny adversary freedom of movement and maneuver and enable friendly freedom of action while avoiding fratricide and collateral damage 12 Conduct mobility operations to enable power projection and freedom of movement and maneuver of semi-independent dispersed mutually supporting formations while masking the approach and signatures of joint maneuver elements to enable those forces to penetrate sophisticated anti-access systems and close within striking range with acceptable risk 13 Establish expeditionary advanced bases to support sea denial sea control power projection and sustainment operations in contested environments 14 Conduct sea-based inshore maritime raids and amphibious advanced force operations employing low-signature capabilities in support of power projection and littoral maneuver 15 Conduct entry operations into austere locations using shallow-draft transport vessels amphibious transport capabilities short take-off and landing aircraft and vertical lift capable of intra-theater transit in support of maneuver power projection and sustainment 16 Conduct and support operational maneuver over strategic distances along multiple axes of advance by air and sea 17 Employ robotic and autonomous systems to lighten the warfighter’s physical workload and increase mobility protection lethality and sustainment effectiveness 18 Execute a comprehensive training and exercise program to prepare selected taskorganized units for short-notice joint and multinational operations to improve interoperability of forces and systems in support of deterrence and combat operations 19 Develop and maintain a combat vehicle and equipment complement that can be transported by existing and programmed aerial and surface assault lift assets in a timely manner to support forward presence forces 20 Conduct persistent cross-domain land air maritime space and cyberspace combined arms air-ground reconnaissance and security operations to collect develop and report near-real time actionable combat information and provide early warning reaction time maneuver space and security 56 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 21 Attain and sustain high team and individual performance to enable seamlessly transitioning between high operational tempo and rapidly fluctuating forms of operations and under conditions of extreme stress 22 Move rapidly from strategic and operational distances and arrive with leaders and warfighters ready to conduct varying forms of operations across fluctuating and indeterminate levels of intensity d Fires The capability to converge integrate and synchronize cross-domain fires at the operational and tactical levels to create windows of advantage to achieve friendly objectives create dilemmas or defeat enemy systems Supporting actions include the ability to 1 Synchronize and employ lethal and nonlethal cross-domain fires to project power from land by delivering timely and accurate effects into other domains the EMS and the information environment while preventing fratricide and minimizing collateral damage 2 Conduct both dynamic and deliberate targeting in all domains including prioritizing targets evaluating windows of vulnerability completing target mensuration performing collateral damage estimation and selecting fires attack options 3 Clear gain engagement authorization and employ organic joint or other missionpartner fires rapidly in all domains and the electromagnetic spectrum 4 Employ long-range precision land-based fires including ballistic missiles extendedrange ground launched multiple rocket systems enhanced artillery-delivered scatterable mines and extended-range tactical missile systems to support maneuver and open or exploit windows of advantage 5 Provide land-based support to sea denial and sea control operations e g coastal defense cruise missiles rockets artillery with a common missile or family of missiles that can be launched from air surface subsurface or land 6 Employ deception measures including advanced decoys and false signatures to engineer or exploit windows of advantage 7 Disrupt adversary command and control movement and maneuver and intelligence capabilities and to protect our own by employing synchronized lethal and nonlethal effects 8 Support over-the-horizon amphibious assaults raids and assaults with integrated fires to enable establishment of EABs and support power projection 9 Integrate organic cyberspace and EMS sensors EW attack and jamming capabilities and automated electromagnetic battle management capabilities at the task-force level to attack or disrupt enemy systems while minimizing vulnerabilities of friendly systems 10 Employ cross-domain cueing and targeting to detect and engage in-depth to delay disrupt or destroy enemy systems 11 Employ multi-domain and counter-fire sensors to improve situational understanding and enable rapid neutralization or destruction of enemy systems or forces 12 Plan integrate and employ information-related capabilities to conduct information environment operations before during and after hostilities to inform and influence selected audiences to facilitate operations before during and after hostilities 57 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION e Protection The capability to protect the force populations and resources from the adversary enemy’s systems by countering or mitigating those threats to retain combat power and defeat efforts to disrupt or reduce friendly capabilities and or will Supporting actions include the ability to 1 Protect the force populations and resources from enemy aircraft unmanned aircraft missiles rockets artillery and mortars 2 Employ mounted and dismounted friendly elements with organic early warning identification capabilities to counter adversary UAS aircraft rocket artillery and mortar capabilities 3 Integrate counter-UAS and short-range air defense into the existing theater defensive counter-air plan 4 Assure access to key selective portions of the EMS during operations to enable counterguided rocket artillery missile and mortar capabilities to protect mission-critical vulnerable areas 5 Integrate land- and sea-based air and missile defense capabilities to protect missioncritical vulnerable areas against air ballistic missile cruise missile including maritime threats 6 Obscure selective parts of the EMS to deny its use to the adversary for detection observation communication and or engagement capabilities and improve force and partner survivability without inhibiting friendly freedom of action maneuver 7 Conduct all hazards chemical biological radiological nuclear explosive device reconnaissance assessment of the operating environment detection protection defense and decontamination 8 Defend expeditionary advanced bases through active and passive means including integrated air and missile defense and the use of low-signature and mobile assets 9 Defend forward marshaling and logistics capabilities afloat and ashore to enable continuous flow of capabilities and sustainment to tactical commanders 10 Conduct littoral mine detection avoidance and clearance utilizing manned-unmanned teaming to enable maneuver in and through the littorals 11 Simultaneously integrate signature control defensive systems and overwatch fires to establish temporary zones of protection for friendly forces to operate 12 Provide personnel protection by using autonomous or robotic systems to detect identify and penetrate high-risk areas to increase capacity to conduct operations 13 Protect and if necessary reconstitute bases and other infrastructure required to project military force to include points of origin ports of embarkation and debarkation and intermediate staging bases 14 Employ the full range of deception means and methods to include the ability to employ decoys across all domains to increase resilience and open windows of advantage 15 Conduct expeditionary airborne early warning in support of land and maritime operations 16 Employ command posts with significantly reduced EMS signatures configured for rapid movement and emplacement that are survivable against an array of threats and have minimal sustainment demands 17 Manage physical and electronic signatures of C2 and sustainment nodes 58 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 18 Employ procedures for rapidly identifying operating during and recovering from significant cyberspace and electromagnetic attacks 19 Employ smart systems and networks to detect adversary probing and intrusion and automatically apply appropriate active and passive cyberspace responses 20 Train the force for proficiency in the employment and integration of robotic and autonomous systems across the warfighting functions and domains to increase personnel survivability and effectiveness f Sustainment The capability to deploy and sustain forces via a global network of fixed and mobile bases to enable sustained operations at the necessary tempo for the required duration Supporting actions include the ability to 1 Support rapid mobilization deployment of combat configured forces and entry operations from multiple locations into austere complex environments while minimizing the need for reception staging onward movement and integration to sustain operations 2 Rapidly establish mobile clandestine expeditionary logistics bases to provide sustainment to afloat and expeditionary operating forces 3 Add and reconfigure prepositioned stocks ashore and afloat that are dispersed for survivability and combat configured in unit sets for rapid employment with alignment to early entry requirements 4 Conduct improved selective offload of forces equipment and all classes of supply from sea-based assets in support of task organized formations 5 Employ logistics at-sea forces to sustain forces in the contested littorals 6 Provide improved early air and sea port assessment and damage repair 7 Produce supplies at the point of need to extend operational reach prolong endurance and sustain Multi-Domain Battle 8 Conduct precision supply operations including use of robotic systems to extend operational reach and prolong endurance of Multi-Domain Battle 9 Conduct multimode distribution in all domains with manned and unmanned systems for delivery of supplies and personnel to all echelons to sustain operations 10 Sustain distributed forces with precision munitions and sufficient fuel in high-intensity combat 11 Establish land- and sea-based expeditionary forward rearming and refueling points to support deep fires and support maneuver 12 Utilize auxiliary platforms to augment logistics sustainment capacity spread sustainment risk and enhance operational tempo 13 Execute air and ground medical casualty evacuation during windows of advantage in contested air environments with sufficient speed range power patient-carrying capacity survivability and reliability to increase patient survivability and decrease morbidity from wounds suffered in the battlespace 14 Monitor and protect the integrity of sustainment information using cyberspace operations to provide reliable redundant sustainment enterprise information with accurate reporting and visibility for formations operating semi-independently to enable shared understanding and forecasting of sustainment activities from the tactical to strategic levels 59 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 15 Protect logistics capabilities and provide selective redundancy for critical requirements 16 Conduct convoy operations employing manned-unmanned teaming techniques with ground transport vehicles 17 Provide logistics forces the mobility protection and agility to support widely dispersed forces with diverse support requirements 18 Provide enhanced prolonged care capability at the point of injury with advanced trauma resuscitation and additional patient-holding capacity forward through all roles of care to increase personnel survivability during semi-independent operations 19 Capture process and disseminate real-time information from the point of injury through the roles of care to develop an integrated medical common operating picture across all joint interorganizational and multinational JIM partners to support interoperability enable interdependencies across echelons leverage JIM medical capabilities improve visibility of patient status expedite patient regulation reduce demand and enable composite force health protection during Multi-Domain Battle 20 Conduct expeditionary health service support to include early entry hospitalization and a rapidly employable resuscitation and surgical capability to increase personnel survivability during cross-domain and semi-independent operations 21 Diagnose and resolve equipment faults rapidly perform recovery at the point of failure and for materiel systems monitor and report conditions autonomously through integration with the sustainment common operating picture to achieve and maintain high operational readiness during operations including semi-independent operations 22 Produce and manage operational energy through the use of power management technologies that are rapidly mobile energy efficient renewable and intelligent in the context of expeditionary and base camp operations to prolong endurance and sustain operations 23 Conduct expeditionary maintenance and battle damage repair 24 Optimize sustainment and reliability availability and maintainability factors for materiel systems especially during materiel development to reduce demand such as fuel and repair parts and overall lifecycle sustainment requirements to extend endurance during operations 25 Maintain a viable and innovative industrial base that can produce materiel supplies and services with the capacity to surge when required to sustain operations 26 Conduct training events and exercises that prepare commanders and staffs to execute joint sustainment operations throughout the operating environment g Engagement The capability to employ physical virtual and cognitive actions to build partner relationships or influence actors’ decision making moral and mental Supporting actions include the ability to 1 Engage with partners on a sustained basis to address shared interests and enhance partners’ security governance economic development essential services rule of law and other critical functions to protect common security interests 2 Conduct security cooperation activities to assure partner states build relationships enhance interoperability and situational awareness and set favorable conditions for inserting follow-on expeditionary forces 60 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 3 Develop relationships and partnership goals and share capabilities and capacities to ensure access and advance long-term regional stability 4 Secure basing navigation and overflight rights and support agreements from regional partners 5 Provide training supplies equipment and other assistance to regional partners to improve their access capabilities 6 Establish and maintain relationships with non-military partners for both conventional force and SOF units 7 Maintain sufficient C2 and liaison capability to account for interagency and multinational interoperability and interface demands including the exchange of liaison personnel the sharing of C2 equipment and procedures and the ability to readily exchange information 8 Assess shape deter and influence the perceptions and behaviors of foreign audiences – people governments and militaries 9 Influence threat decision making while protecting friendly decision making capabilities 10 Generate situational understanding through continual regional engagement and intellectual and operational preparation of the environment to inform senior leaders and prepare forces for global missions 11 Demonstrate character competence and commitment in word and deed to include adherence to the U S military profession and ethic to secure the support of U S regional partner and global populations Appendix C Multi-Domain Battle supporting ideas C-1 Maneuver in Multi-Domain Battle a Maneuver is the combination of movement and fires to achieve positions of advantage that defeats the enemy 48 Movement is the adjustment of the physical location of a capability to another more favorable location In addition to the physical effect of repositioning movement usually produces cognitive effects on the enemy as well All military capabilities originate from a physical location and undergo movement of some form when employed even those capabilities intended to produce cognitive or virtual effects Fires are the destructive or disruptive effects a formation or asset produce on an enemy Fires can produce a combination of physical virtual and cognitive effects on the enemy Fires even if they are particles or waves must also travel through a domain to reach their intended target which is also a physical location even if the target is a computer or a human mind b Multi-Domain Battle requires fires and maneuver to operate within and across domains Cross-domain fires and cross-domain maneuver exploit an opportunity from one or more domains intended to achieve an advantage in another domain 48 An enemy force is defeated when it has temporarily or permanently lost the physical means or the will to fight To defeat the enemy joint forces destroy dislocate disintegrate and isolate enemy forces 61 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION 1 Cross-domain maneuver is the employment of mutually supporting lethal and nonlethal capabilities of multiple domains to create conditions designed to generate overmatch present multiple dilemmas to the enemy and enable Joint Force freedom of movement and action 2 Cross-domain fires is the integration and delivery of lethal and nonlethal fires across all five domains land maritime air space and cyberspace the electromagnetic spectrum and the information environment c Cross-domain maneuver and cross-domain fires are a realization that a commander must visualize and exploit the physical virtual and cognitive effects of maneuver and fires in multiple domains and environments over time For example a ground tactical formation must operate in and potentially affect if it contains appropriate cross-domain capabilities the relevant air and maritime domains above or adjacent to its land-based area of operations as well as understand cyberspace electromagnetic spectrum information environment and space domain activities that can impact friendly operations Based on this visualization the commander must converge organic and available Joint Force capabilities in time and at the proper place to identify create and exploit windows of advantage C-2 Positions of Advantage Positions of advantage are more than key terrain because they include ideas of time capability and purpose Positions of advantage exist when formations and assets are at physical locations at appropriate times and in sufficient capacity with the will readiness and understanding of higher intent to decisively affect operations Positions of advantage also exist in the non-physical areas of information cyberspace and the cognitive dimension of warfare 49 Achieving positions of advantage requires understanding what directly threatens vulnerabilities in the enemy’s system Multi-Domain Battle uses windows of advantage to create conditions to maneuver or otherwise establish advantageous military positions to defeat or being postured to defeat enemy forces Rapidly gaining positions of advantage in competition and armed conflict achieves friendly objectives by defeating enemy forces or deterring escalation of hostilities C-3 Information environment operations IEO 50 a Information operations IO is the current terminology used by the Department of Defense DoD for operations in the information environment To support Multi-Domain Battle IO must evolve to IEO IEO synchronizes information-related capabilities IRC in concert with operations to create effects in and through the information ecosystem 51 IRCs advance the commander’s intent and concept of operations seize retain and exploit the initiative in the information ecosystem and consolidate gains in the information environment to achieve a decisive information advantage over enemies and adversaries IEO can provide commanders additional ways and means to 49 Examples of this include human reconnaissance or resistance networks built over time in likely operating areas for key enemy assets openings detected but not yet exploited in enemy networks or a timely information narrative built on credible action 50 IEO is the integrated employment during military operations of information-related capabilities IRC in concert with other lines of operations to influence deceive disrupt corrupt or usurp the decision making of enemies and adversaries while protecting our own to influence enemy formations and populations to reduce their will to fight and influence friendly and neutral populations to enable friendly operations 51 For purposes of this concept the information ecosystem refers to the complex system of interrelated and networked information flows amongst and between populations that a commander must understand and consider to gain and maintain freedom of action 62 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION • Degrade disrupt or destroy threat capabilities that inform or influence decision making • Degrade disrupt or destroy threat capabilities that command and control maneuver fires intelligence communications and information warfare capabilities employed against friendly forces • Protect friendly information technical networks and decision-making capabilities from an exploitation by adversary enemy information warfare assets • Influence enemy formations and populations to reduce their will to fight • Influence friendly and neutral populations to enable friendly operations b In support of Multi-Domain Battle IEO must be fully integrated into the planning and execution of the joint targeting process When converged with other capabilities IEO directly supports opening and exploiting windows of advantage during competition and armed conflict The military capabilities that contribute to IEO which should be taken into consideration include strategic communication joint and interagency coordination public affairs civil-military operations cyberspace operations information assurance space operations military information support to operations intelligence military deception operations security electromagnetic spectrum operations and military and civilian engagement c Commanders must understand the information ecosystem and determine how enemies and adversaries operate in that environment Understanding begins with analyzing the adversary enemy’s use of the information ecosystem and how it employs IRCs to gain an advantage It continues with determining threat vulnerabilities that friendly forces can exploit and identifying areas which must be defended against adversary enemy IRCs d IEO provides commanders an implementation strategy and integrative framework for employing IRCs An integrated IEO campaign may include the use of the cyberspace domain the space domain and the electromagnetic spectrum to deliver IEO products observe enemy or adversary actions and reactions or to deliver cyberspace space or EW effects Integrating cyberspace space and EW capabilities generates synergistic information ecosystem effects When employed as part of IEO that includes multiple IRCs cyberspace space and EW operations can provide commanders an alternative solution to challenging operational problem sets 63 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION C-4 Engagement 52 a Since war is fundamentally and primarily a human endeavor the Joint Force working with its partners must address the cognitive aspects of political human social and cultural interactions to achieve operational and National objectives Employing engagement the Joint Force and its partners synchronize activities to understand influence and achieve human interactions which cross all domains to achieve a position of advantage during competition or armed conflict Engagement enables U S forces to outmaneuver an adversary cognitively as well as to physically and virtually deter counter and deny the escalation of violence in competition and defeat the enemy if armed conflict cannot be avoided Additionally through engagement routine contact and interaction between the Joint Force and its partners build trust and confidence share information coordinate mutual activities and maintain influence b Employing the operational tenets of engagement presents multiple dilemmas to an enemy converging multi-domain capabilities that will create windows of advantage for friendly forces 53 In the best case engagement activities can strengthen U S options and measures in competition and avert or deter armed conflict However if armed conflict cannot be avoided engagement provides a deeper and common understanding of the operating environment and enables opening windows of advantage and turning denied spaces into contested spaces c A cognitive window of advantage is created by degrading disrupting or otherwise manipulating a decision maker’s understanding and decision cycle or influencing a formation’s or population’s will to establish favorable conditions Achieving cognitive windows of advantage requires careful consideration of the following tenets • Understand human factors of the operating environment 54 • Incorporate human factors into campaign and operations planning training and exercises • Build partner operational institutional governance and expeditionary capabilities and joint interorganizational and multinational partner networks • Operate with and through joint interorganizational and multinational partners and indigenous populations to shape the operating environment and conduct security activities Appendix D Assumptions D-1 Baseline Assumptions The assumptions from TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-0 The U S Army Capstone Concept ACC TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1 The Army Operating Concept 52 Engagement is the combination of physical informational and psychological actions taken to influence actors’ decision making moral and mental 53 Some examples of these dilemmas include security cooperation activities can strengthen an ally’s defensive capabilities and resolve civil affairs operations can help influence a population positively toward U S presence and operations military information support to operations can shape an enemy’s will to fight interactions with the host nation can develop valuable situational understanding 54 Human factors are the physical cultural psychological and behavioral attributes of an individual or group that influence perceptions understanding and interaction 64 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION Win in a Complex World AOC and the assessment for Marine Corps Operating Concept How an Expeditionary Force Operates in the 21st Century MOC apply to this concept D-2 Fundamental assumptions 1 Adversaries will challenge U S interests by means and with ways below the threshold of armed conflict and short of what the U S considers war 2 Adversaries can conduct armed conflict via regional campaigns with limited warning to seize limited strategic objectives and consolidate gains within days or weeks 3 The proliferation of precision-guided weapons integrated air defenses cyberspace weapons counter-space weapons and other technologies allows an increasing number of potential adversaries to contest and hold at risk U S forces in all domains at the tactical operational and strategic levels 4 U S and partner political authorities will authorize and enable sufficient force posture and readiness levels to respond and defeat peer adversaries if deterrence fails 5 U S and partner governments will provide authorities for friendly forces to conduct operational preparation of the environment as well as offensive electromagnetic spectrum cyberspace space UW and IW operations to deter and defeat adversaries 6 U S and partner government agencies headquarters and fielded forces will develop and sustain sufficient interoperability between Services government agencies and allies to conduct combined operations that deter and defeat adversaries Appendix E Linkage to other concepts E-1 This concept has linkages to the following concepts Capstone Concept for Joint Operations CCJO ACC AOC A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower MOC Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan Air Force Future Operating Concept Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning JCIC Joint Operational Access Concept JOAC Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons JAM-GC the Joint Concept for Entry Operations JCEO and the Joint Concept for Human Aspects of Military Operations JC-HAMO E-2 The CCJO establishes globally integrated operations as the future joint operational concept designed to address the challenge of meeting unremitting strategic requirements with constrained military resources This concept describes how the Joint Force and particularly ground forces will overcome current challenges for rapid aggregation of globally distributed forces to conduct globally integrated operations E-3 The ACC states that the Army provides decisive landpower through credible robust capacity to win and the depth and resilience to support Combatant Commanders across a range 65 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION of military operations This concept shows how future Army forces can prevent conflict through enhanced credible deterrence and shape the operating environment and win the Nation’s wars conducting Multi-Domain Battle with resilient battle formations E-4 The AOC states for the Army as part of a joint interorganizational and multinational team provides multiple options the Nation’s leadership integrates multiple partners and operates across multiple domains to present adversaries with multiple dilemmas and achieve sustainable outcomes This paper describes how the Army performs actions listed in the AOC when conducting ground combat operations against a highly capable peer adversary E-5 A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower states that naval forces perform these essential functions all-domain access deterrence sea control power projection and maritime security The Multi-Domain Battle concept proposes joint approaches that help address these essential functions E-6 The MOC focuses on five key drivers of change complex terrain technology proliferation information as a weapon battle of signatures and increasingly contested maritime domain The Multi-Domain Battle concept proposes joint approaches the help address these changes E-7 Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan states that developing and delivering air superiority for the highly contested environment in 2030 requires a multi-domain focus on capabilities and capacity E-8 The Air Force Future Operating Concept states that flexibility in operational agility manifests as integrated multi-domain operations It further asserts that operationally agile forces will defeat future enemy threats by fighting in a highly coordinated manner under the principle of mission command and this approach must be developed within the framework of the joint and combined team E-9 The draft Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning JCIC describes a complex operating environment in which the Joint Force continually campaigns within the competition continuum which features some mixture of cooperation competition below armed conflict and armed conflict Within this construct the purpose of the Joint Force is to continually seek the maintenance and sustainment of strategic aims while countering efforts of revisionist states to undermine U S interests Multi-Domain Battle offers the means for the Joint Force to more effectively campaign across the competition continuum E-10 The Joint Operational Access Concept JOAC identifies the problem of projecting military force into an operational area and sustaining it in the face of armed opposition by increasingly capable enemies and within contested domains The JOAC proposes employing cross-domain synergy – the complementary vice merely additive employment of capabilities in different domains such that each enhances the effectiveness and compensates for the vulnerabilities of the others – to establish superiority in some combination of domains that will 66 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION provide the freedom of action required by the mission This paper shows how ground forces will help to obtain cross-domain synergy in support of the joint campaign E-11 The Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons JAM-GC states that the future force must be distributable resilient and tailorable with sufficient scale and capable of operations of ample duration The JAM-GC’s solution includes advanced integration of operations across multiple domains both inside and outside the contested environment This is consistent with many of the ideas in this paper This paper expands JAM-GC’s premises from the global commons to operational maneuver by combined arms formations on land integrated with those in the air maritime cyberspace and space domains E-12 The Joint Concept for Entry Operations JCEO focuses on the integration of force capabilities across domains in order to secure freedom of maneuver on foreign territory within an operational area This concept complements and helps set conditions for the operational ideas in the JCEO E-13 The Joint Concept for Human Aspects of Military Operations JC-HAMO supports the Multi-Domain Battle concept’s need to understand relevant actors’ motivations and the underpinnings of their will JC-HAMO acknowledges the centrality of human will in war and provides a framework that integrates with the commander’s decision cycle enabling the Joint Force to influence a range of relevant actors The goal of this concept is to improve understanding and effectiveness for cognitive activities during the conduct of operations Appendix F Future study issues F-1 Introduction This appendix identifies areas for further study to refine the Multi-Domain Battle concept These questions are organized by competition armed conflict and a return to competition and friendly actions posed by the Multi-Domain Battle concept F-2 Competition a How does the Joint Force working with its partners best contest adversary reconnaissance IW and UW operations • • • How does the Joint Force working with its partners contest physically virtually and cognitively enemy reconnaissance in competition How does the Joint Force working with its partners contest physically virtually and cognitively enemy UW in competition How does the Joint Force working with its partners contest physically virtually and cognitively enemy IW in competition b How does the Joint Force working with its partners best deter armed conflict and employment of adversary conventional forces 67 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION • • • • • • • • What actions posture and capabilities does the force require to deter the adversary o Training requirements o Readiness requirements o Interoperability requirements What does the optimal rapidly deployable Joint Coalition Allied Force consist of and how is that force regulated controlled and echeloned into theater What level of exercise or demonstration are necessary for effective deterrence What are the required command and control capabilities for the Joint Force and its partner organizations to actively compete and immediately respond to the escalation of violence What are the required authorities and command responsibilities for the Joint Force and its partner organizations to respond immediately to an escalation of violence What are the command roles and responsibilities for the Joint Force and its partner organizations to transition from competition to armed conflict What inter national policy and law restrictions are there to Multi-Domain Battle What inter national policy and law enhancements are needed to facilitate Multi-Domain Battle better What inter national policy and law enhancements could deter limit our adversary’s possibilities to conduct operations under the threshold of war “lawfare” What attributions-capabilities “forensic investigation-type capabilities” are needed to link adversary operations under the threshold of war back to the perpetrator by providing valid proof according the International Court of Justice F-3 Armed conflict a How does the Joint Force working with its partners best defeat the peer adversary’s fait accompli campaign in armed conflict • • • • • • • How should the Joint Coalition Allied Force shape the environment for armed conflict physical virtual cognitive How does the Joint Coalition Allied Force execute deep maneuver air maritime and ground in a degraded environment How does the Joint Coalition Allied Force command and control operations in the Deep Maneuver Area What long-range precision fires are best suited for deep fires What capabilities does the Joint Coalition Allied Force require to strike targets in the Deep Maneuver Area in heavily contested airspace ISR targeting delivery assessment What enemy systems are vulnerable to detection in the Deep Maneuver Area What are the implications of deep maneuver to the Joint Coalition Allied Force with respect to o Communications and PNT requirements o Protection requirements o Sustainment requirements 68 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION • o Combat casualty care requirements How do expeditionary advanced base operations support Joint Force land campaigns b How does the Joint Force working with its partners best conduct deployment and echelonment approach march • • • • • • • • • How does the Joint Coalition Allied Force command and control the maneuver of forces from the U S to the Close or Deep Areas How does the Joint Coalition Allied Force conduct strategic maneuver of forces from the U S into the Close or Deep Areas in a degraded environment How does the Joint Force maintain situational understanding to determine that conditions have been set temporary windows of domain superiority have been established to maneuver from the homeland to a theater What capabilities does the Joint Force require to conduct strategic maneuver of forces from the U S into the Close or Deep Areas in a degraded environment How does DoD and alliance organizations coordinate the effects between Combatant Commands such as the U S Northern Command U S Cyber Command U S European Command U S Pacific Command U S Special Operations Command U S Transportation Command and U S Strategic Command allied command operations and allied command transformation to conduct strategic maneuver of forces from the U S into the Close or Deep Areas What are the challenges of executing strategic and operational maneuver What are the requirements for strategic and operational lift With a significant portion of the strategic and operational lift reaching its shelf-life by 2030 should different system s approaches be pursued in replacing these assets If so how What common consistent practices can enable rapid compositing of forces into a single organization under one commander c How does the Joint Force working with its partners best contest the enemy’s ISR-strike system 1 How does the Joint Force working with its partners best set the theater including within the U S homeland before hostilities • • • • What actions need to be implemented to reduce infrastructure pre-positioned equipment and basing vulnerabilities to the enemy’s ISR-strike capabilities such as defensive cyber and adaptive basing What level of protection is sufficient for the risks What improvements are needed to reduce vulnerabilities for support and logistics How can the Joint Force achieve distributed maneuverable logistics to sustain the force 2 How does the Joint Force working with its partners best defeat enemy ISR 69 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION • • What actions need to be implemented to defeat enemy ISR What is the optimal mix of capabilities such as EW air defense deception etc 3 How does the Joint Force working with its partners best defeat enemy strike systems • How can ground forces enable the Joint Coalition Allied Force to dislocate or disrupt the enemy fires systems d How does the Joint Force working with its partners best defeat enemy IADS • How can ground forces enable the Joint Coalition Allied Force to dislocate or disrupt the enemy IADS systems e How does the Joint Force working with its partners best defeat maritime forces • • How can ground forces enable the Joint Coalition Allied Force to dislocate disrupt or defeat the enemy maritime forces in support of sea control sea denial and power projection How does the Joint Force integrate ISR packages to produce a comprehensive and shared understanding of the littoral environment f How does the Joint Force working with its partners best defeat ground maneuver formations of a peer adversary in the Close and Deep Maneuver Areas • • • Aside from improving survivability during echelonment to get to the Close Area what unique capabilities or modernization efforts are needed to defeat enemy ground formations Is semi-independent maneuver a viable option against a peer adversary If so what capabilities or procedures are needed for semi-independent maneuver to be effective against peer adversaries How do U S forces conduct offensive electromagnetic spectrum cyberspace space and information warfare operations at all echelons to defeat adversaries What authorities are needed g How does the Joint Force working with its partners best deter use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction effect • Besides dispersion and passive defense measures what other actions or capabilities are needed to deter enemy use of weapons of mass destruction effect F-4 Return to competition a How does the Joint Force working with its partners best contest the adversary’s renewed subversion campaign 70 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION • What actions unique from competition prior to armed conflict if any are needed to defeat a renewed enemy subversion campaign b How does the Joint Force working with its partners best deter a return to armed conflict • What actions unique from competition prior to armed conflict if any are needed to deter return to armed conflict c How does the Joint Force working with its partners best restore and strengthen partner capabilities • How does the Joint Coalition Allied Force coordinate actions across all partners to restore governance and military capabilities to re-establish security F-5 Overarching assessment • • What are the capability capacity gaps for executing Multi-Domain Battle How should the Joint Force prioritize and mitigate these gaps Glossary Terms and Acronyms A2 ACC AD ADP ADRP ARCIC AOC APOD C2 C4ISR CCJO CD I DA DOT_LPF DOTMLPF DOTMLPF-P anti-access TP 525-3-0 The U S Army Capstone Concept area denial Army doctrine publications Army doctrine reference publications Army Capabilities Integration Center TP 525-3-1 The U S Army Operating Concept Win in a Complex World aerial port of debarkation command and control command control communications computers intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance Capstone Concept for Joint Operations Capabilities Development and Integration Department of the Army doctrine organization training leadership and education personnel and facilities doctrine organization training materiel leadership and education personnel and facilities doctrine organization training materiel leadership and education personnel facilities and policy 71 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION EAB EMS EW FDO FM IADS IEO IO IRC ISR IW 55 JAM-GC JCEO JCIC JOAC JP MISO MOC PNT RDRO RSOI S T SLOC SOF SPOD SSM TRADOC TP UAS U S WMD expeditionary advanced base electromagnetic spectrum electronic warfare flexible deterrent option field manual integrated air defense system information environment operations information operations information-related capability intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance information warfare Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons Joint Concept for Entry Operations Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning Joint Operational Access Concept joint publication military information support to operations Marine Corps Operating Concept How an Expeditionary Force Operates in the 21st Century position navigation and timing rapid deterrence response option reception staging onward movement and integration science and technology sea line of communications special operations forces sea port of debarkation surface-to-surface missile U S Army Training and Doctrine Command U S Army Training and Doctrine Command Pamphlet unmanned aircraft system United States weapons of mass destruction adversary a party acknowledged as potentially hostile to a friendly party and against which the use of force may be envisaged JP 3-0 air domain the atmosphere beginning at the Earth’s surface extending to the altitude where its effects upon operations become negligible JP 3-30 55 Use of “IW” as adversary enemy information warfare is unique to this concept and is not to be confused with irregular warfare in other documents 72 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION armed conflict when the use of violence is the primary means by which an actor seeks to satisfy its interests JCIC battlespace the area where military operations are conducted to achieve military goals consisting of all domains air land maritime space and cyberspace the information environment the electromagnetic spectrum and human dimension of warfare It includes factors and conditions that must be understood to successfully apply combat power protect the force or complete the mission including enemy and friendly armed forces infrastructure weather and terrain within the operational areas and areas of interest campaign a series of related major operations aimed at achieving strategic and operational objectives within a given time and space JP 5-0 Close Area where friendly and enemy formations forces and systems are in imminent physical contact and contest for control of physical space in support of campaign objectives competition the condition when two or more actors in the international system have incompatible interests but neither seeks to escalate to open conflict in pursuit of those interests While violence is not the adversary’s primary instrument in competition challenges may include a range of violent instruments including conventional forces with uncertain attribution to the state sponsor JCIC contested spaces those areas where U S and allied forces can challenge the adversary’s denial measures maintain some degree of friendly freedom of action and potentially deny adversary freedom of action convergence the integration of capabilities across domains environments and functions in time and physical space to achieve a purpose Capability convergence produces physical virtual and or cognitive windows of advantage that provide the freedom of maneuver required for forces to defeat adversary systems and ultimately achieve friendly objectives Achieving convergence requires a sophisticated understanding and mastery of the dynamic relationship between capabilities time spaces and purpose counterinsurgency comprehensive civilian and military efforts designed to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes JP 3-34 cross-domain having an effect from one domain into another 73 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION cross-domain fires the integration and delivery of lethal and nonlethal fires across all five domains land maritime air space and cyberspace the electromagnetic spectrum and the information environment cross-domain maneuver the employment of mutually supporting lethal and nonlethal capabilities of multiple domains to create conditions designed to generate overmatch present multiple dilemmas to the enemy and enable Joint Force freedom of movement and action cross-domain synergy the complementary vice merely additive employment of capabilities in different domains such that each enhances the effectiveness and compensates for the vulnerabilities of the others – to establish superiority in some combination of domains that will provide the freedom of action required by the mission cyberspace a global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent networks of information technology infrastructures and resident data including the Internet telecommunications networks computer systems and embedded processors and controllers JP 3-12 cycle time the shortest overall time required to complete one full linkage of preparation planning and execution duration and reset of a capability decisive operation the operation that directly accomplishes the mission ADRP 3-0 Deep Fires Areas the areas beyond the feasible range of movement for conventional forces but where joint fires SOF information and virtual capabilities can be employed Deep Maneuver Area the area where maneuver forces can go beyond the Close Area but is so contested that maneuver still requires significant allocation and convergence of multi-domain capabilities destroy tactical mission task that physically renders an enemy force combat ineffective until it is reconstituted Alternatively to destroy a combat system is to damage it so badly that it cannot perform any function or be restored to a usable condition without being entirely rebuilt FM 390-1 denied spaces those areas where the adversary can severely constrain U S and allied forces’ freedom of action through A2 AD and other measures 74 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION disintegrate disrupt the enemy’s command and control system degrading its ability to conduct operations while leading to a rapid collapse of the enemy’s capabilities or will to fight ADRP 3-0 dislocate render the enemy’s strength irrelevant and ill positioned by achieving positional advantage through movement removing the enemy from the decisive point or achieving functional advantage through technology or tactics proposed change to existing doctrinal term domain an area of activity within the operating environment land air maritime space and cyberspace in which operations are organized and conducted modified joint definition duration time the time the capability or element is effective in to keep the window of advantage open Duration time may be known or variable based on an enemy’s counteractions echeloning or echelonment maneuver of forces from the Strategic and Operational Support Areas into the Tactical Support Area and Close Area enemy a party identified as hostile against which the use of force is authorized ADRP 3-0 engagement the combination of physical informational and psychological actions taken to build relationships or influence actors' decision-making moral and mental expeditionary maneuver the rapid deployment of task organized combined arms forces able to transition quickly to conduct operations of sufficient scale and ample duration to achieve strategic objectives AOC force posture encompasses forward positioned forces rapidly deployable formations and transport means and integration of joint interorganizational and multinational partner capabilities as well as the cross-section of relationships activities facilities legal arrangements and sustainment necessary for proper employment information ecosystem the complex system of interrelated and networked information flows amongst and between populations that a commander must understand and consider to gain and maintain freedom of action 75 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION information environment the aggregate of individuals organizations and systems that collect process disseminate or act on information JP 3-13 information environment operations integrated employment of information related capabilities IRC in concert with other lines of operation to influence deceive disrupt corrupt or usurp the decision making of enemies and adversaries while protecting our own to influence enemy formations and populations to reduce their will to fight and influence friendly and neutral populations to enable friendly operations information operations integrated employment during military operations of information-related capabilities IRC in concert with other lines of operation to influence deceive disrupt corrupt or usurp the decision making of enemies and adversaries while protecting our own JP 3-13 insurgency the organized use of subversion and violence to seize nullify or challenge potential control of a region Insurgency can also refer to the group itself JP 3-24 interoperability the ability to operate in synergy in the execution of assigned tasks JP 3-0 2 The condition achieved among communications-electronics systems or items of communications-electronics equipment when information or services can be exchanged directly and satisfactorily between them and or their users JP 6-0 interorganizational elements of U S government agencies state territorial local and tribal agencies foreign government agencies intergovernmental nongovernmental and commercial organizations does not include forces TP 525-3-1 isolate a tactical mission task that requires a unit to seal off—both physically and psychologically—an enemy from sources of support deny the enemy freedom of movement and prevent the isolated enemy force from having contact with other enemy forces FM 3-90-1 land domain the area of the Earth’s surface ending at the high water mark and overlapping with the maritime domain in the landward segment of the littorals JP 3-31 lawfare a strategy of using—or misusing—law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective 56 56 Charles J Dunlap Jr Lawfare Today A Perspective 3 YALE J INT’L AFF 146 146 2008 76 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION littoral the littoral comprises two segments of operational environment 1 Seaward the area from the open ocean to the shore which must be controlled to support operations ashore 2 Landward the area inland from the shore that can be supported and defended directly from the sea JP 2-01 3 maritime domain the oceans seas bays estuaries islands coastal areas and the airspace above these including the littorals JP 3-32 multi-domain the ability to perform actions in multiple domains at the same time Multi-Domain Battle convergence of capabilities to create windows of advantage often temporary across multiple domains and contested areas throughout the depth of the battlespace to seize retain and exploit the initiative defeat enemies and achieve military objectives operational preparation of the environment the conduct of activities in likely or potential areas of operations to prepare and shape the operational environment JP 3-05 Operational Support Area the area of responsibility from which most of the air and maritime capabilities derive their source of power control and sustainment as well as where ground forces enter theater organize and prepare for rapid onward movement and integration overmatch the application of capabilities or unique tactics either directly or indirectly with the intent to prevent or mitigate opposing forces from using their current or projected equipment or tactics peer adversaries those nation states with the intent capabilities and capacity to contest U S interests globally in most or all domains and environments planning and execution time the time required to plan employment and then execute it to create an effect to include create a window of advantage Typically planning and preparation occur simultaneously though depending on the situation and capability one or the other might be the limiting factor position of advantage a position of relative advantage is a location or the establishment of a favorable condition within the area of operations that provides the commander with temporary freedom of action to enhance combat power over an enemy or influence the enemy to accept risk and move to a position of disadvantage ADRP 3-0 77 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION preparation time the time required to organize and maneuver forces or capabilities e g a cyber weapon from its current location to the intended employment space or window of advantage reset a set of actions to restore equipment to a desired level of combat capability commensurate with a unit’s future mission JP 4-0 reset time the time required to prepare forces or capabilities between employments resilient formations formations that are scalable and capable of operating and thriving in conditions of austerity while conducting semi-independent operations and cross-domain maneuver semi-autonomous capable of some level of independent action but still requiring a degree of human control semi-independent operations operating dispersed for extended periods without continuous or contiguous support from higher echelons with the ability to concentrate combat power rapidly at decisive points and in spaces domains to achieve operational objectives shaping operation an operation that establishes conditions for the decisive operation through effects on the enemy other actors and the terrain ADRP 3-0 snap drill rapid reaction military exercises to test combat readiness Strategic Support Area the area of cross-combatant command coordination strategic sea and air lines of communication and the homeland sustaining operation an operation at any echelon that enables the decisive operation or shaping operations by generating and maintaining combat power ADRP 3-0 Tactical Support Area the area that directly enables decisive tactical operations in the close and extension of capabilities into the deep maneuver and deep fires 78 DRAFT– NOT FOR IMPLEMENTATION unconventional warfare activities conducted to enable a resistance movement or insurgency to coerce disrupt or overthrow a government or occupying power by operating through or with an underground auxiliary and guerrilla force in a denied area Also called UW JP 3-05 1 window of advantage converging capabilities in time and space in selected domains and environments to enable commanders to gain localized control or physical virtual and or cognitive influence over a specified area to prevent its use by an enemy or to create conditions necessary for successful friendly operations Proposed definition 79