Can The U.S. Army Transform Without A New Approach To Warfare? (From Breaking Defense)

The Army is proceeding full speed ahead with its modernization efforts, the so-called 31+4. Over the next few years, the Army says it will achieve initial fielding of capabilities from at least 22 of the 35 programs. These include a hypersonic missile, several long-range precision strike weapons, enhanced soldier vision systems, tactical lasers, and artificial intelligence. Military history would suggest that while better equipment can make a difference in a future conflict, it is much more important to develop an operational concept and, eventually, a doctrine that can defeat the way an adversary intends to fight. What the Army needs is a transformative way of conducting theater-scale, high-end combat against equally well-equipped adversaries with the advantages of proximity to the likely battlefield and the ability to choose the time and place to initiate hostilities. I have written more about Army transformation here.