New Fires Technology Destabilizes Boundaries Between Warfighting Communities (From Forbes)

The U.S. Army is pursuing development initiatives that could provide it with long-range fires capable of precisely targeting enemy assets a thousand or more miles away. Some air-power proponents don’t like the idea, saying it replicates capabilities already resident in the heavy bomber force. However, there are numerous reasons why the Army initiatives would be value-added in future conflicts, not the least of which is the declining survivability of bombers in contested air space. It may well be that the boundaries between Army fires and Air Force strike capabilities are going to shift as new technologies come to fruition. At the other end of the range continuum, mortars may be poised to take on tasks previously reserved for howitzers and missiles, thanks once again to the adoption of new technologies. I have written a commentary for Forbes here about how new tech may impact the distribution of roles and missions in the fires arena.