WASHINGTON – From experimenting with sister service’ equipment to testing out two new soldier-robot prototyping formations, the US Army is preparing for its fourth Project Convergence capstone event next spring with a host of new tech.
Although the service has not disclosed a laundry list of its objectives and new capabilities for its 2024 event at Fort Irwin and Camp Pendleton in California, a trio of Army generals previewed the service’s contribution to larger Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative that includes the help the other US services and foreign nations.
At the Camp Pendleton portion of the exercise, for example, the Army is focusing on offensive and defensive fires. The generals did not disclose exactly what systems the Army will experiment with but fires can include anything from Paladin self-propelled howitzers and Patriot launchers to the service’s new Precision Strike Missile.
“I envision, at a point in time, there’ll be a single system that can do offensive-defensive fires,” Army Futures Command chief Gen. James Rainey said Wednesday. “We’re a little bit of a ways [from] that but right now, today, we’re in the process of figuring out how to connect the different sensors, from offensive and defensive fires, through the different decision makers and bring this sustainment enterprise to bear in a way.”
Rainey’ deputy, Lt. Gen. Ross Coffman, added that that portion of the exercise would also feature the use of artificial intelligence to help ensure the services can “talk to one another” and work together under a common operating picture.
Ballistic missile threats were previously slated to take centerstage of the demo this year for the first time, but the AFC didn’t disclose if that was still the plan, and a list of just which sensors, launchers, and command and control (C2) systems will be featured likewise has not been disclosed. However, the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System, billed as the C2 heart of its air and missile defense architecture, is likely a sure bet.
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