Military Technology 05/2021

its influence and potential intensions. Further, it has mirrored the Russian Federation emphasis on A2/AD. This puts both the air superiority taken for granted by Western militaries and ships operating in these offshore waters at risk. Just as combined operations and MDO approaches were driven by the realities of the region in 1942, so, too, are they again at play as attention returns to the same theatres. In a similar manner, the com- promise of aerial dominance, both on land and sea, is necessitating a re- balancing of the interrelationships between air, land, and sea forces. The promotion of MDO, such as the 16 March 2021 Army Chief of Staff Paper #1 (CSA Paper 1), speaks of these current efforts as a “bold transforma- tion [that] will provide the Joint Force with range, speed, and convergence of cutting-edge technologies that will provide decision dominance and overmatch required to win the next fight.” MDO proposes an all-encompassing view of the battlefield, breaking down the artificial limits that have developed between forces operating in With new concerns over the possibility of conflict with peer and near-peer adversaries, the concept of cross-domain or multi-domain operations (MDO) has received increasing attention. This reflects the intent of combining air, land, sea, space, and cyber capabilities in a seamless manner to achieve military advantage. MDO seeks to consider the battlespace as a whole, and to provide a structure and means by which elements in one domain can affect activities in the others. It calls for an integrated view of the battle and unit conduct across each of the domains in a concerted manner. MDO is viewed as an answer to Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) that establishes mutually supporting in-depth air and surface defences. A2/AD is specifically designed to counter Western military reliance on air­ power, and its dominance in recent campaigns. In operating across multiple domains, the idea is that the actions emanating from one domain can be employed to further the objectives of forces in others. Joint Operations A case can be made that the US military’s engagement with cross-­ domain operations is a return to a model it had perfected out of necessity during World War II. By the war’s end, combined operations, in which air, ground, and sea forces participated in pursuit of a common objective, were common. Examples, include the Army Air Force medium bombers laying sea mines to close Japan’s shipping lanes. The Army Coastal Artillery and Marine advanced base Defense Battalions were integral parts of naval defence strategy. Air Corps medium bombers were used in attempts to break through enemy defence lines at Caen in Normandy. Amphibious operations, a defining feature of the war and an epitome of cross-domain, were conducted under both naval and army command. Influenced by both the nature of subsequent conflicts, such as Vietnam and then Iraq and Afghanistan, the combined operation, though not totally lost on a tactical and operational level, enjoyed diminished attention from a service standpoint. In fact, the competition for funds within defence budgets encouraged service-centric positions. This may have influenced the tendency toward featuring ‘separate’ wars over the hard lessons learned in the 1940s. A Return to Combined Operations Contributing to the renewed attention being given to the MDO battle is the reorientation to the Pacific. This reflects recognition of the Peoples Republic of China as a competitor in the Indo-Pacific, and concern over Stephen W Miller Cross-Domain Operations 14 · MT 5/2021 THEME: Land Warfare Conducting MDO requires a robust air defence against counter-action. The Raytheon LTAMDS radar, which is completing testing, offers 360° 100+ kilometre coverage, with improved target detection capability against evolving threats. (Photo: Raytheon) The US Army identified cruise missiles and medium UAS as key threats to its ability to conduct MDO. It is pursuing an air defence capability to cover the gap between SHORAD and PATRIOT – the Indirect Fire Protection System (IFPS) – an early version of which is shown. (Photo: US Army)