SIGNAL Magazine:

New doctrines meet evolving threats in a growing battlespace.

The push toward multidomain operations is geared toward meeting the multifaceted threat U.S. forces face worldwide, but its effects already are being felt in the Indo-Pacific region. Three nation-state adversaries, each with its own flavor of threat, are influencing U.S. efforts in that vast region to maintain peace and security.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), long a guarantor of free movement across the broad hemisphere that defines the region, is working to implement changes across the force while continuing ongoing operations. Its task is complicated by the need for interoperability among the services as well as with the burgeoning list of allies and partners joining U.S. efforts to counter hegemonistic threats in the region. And, a wish list of several vital technologies may hold the key to operational success.

A free and open Pacific lies at the heart of INDOPACOM’s mission, says Rear Adm. John Wade, USN, director for operations, J-3, at INDOPACOM. This is built around a deterrence-based operational framework. “The entire region is in a competition, and the goal here is to prevent a conflict,” he declares.

The admiral cited a need to converge capabilities from multiple domains to “create the virtue of mass without the vulnerability of concentration.” This must be accomplished rapidly and at long distances while also being able to wage an effective defense. All-domain operations will require forces distributed across a large battlespace, and this mandates interoperability as well as synchronization. Many experiments underway, such as the Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations concept, are looking at changes in organizational structures in addition to operational activities such as sensing and shooting…

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