US Army’s ‘Tropic Lightning’ Division ponders transformation lessons from Philippine war games

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division (25th ID) has undergone a veritable metamorphosis in the past few years, but Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees, its commanding general, explained even more transformation is coming.

Speaking to Defense News from the Philippines, Bartholomees confirmed that, as an original Transformation in Contact division, four of his five brigades have changed significantly already. Following his mobile infantry, artillery and sustainment brigades, he revealed the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) is “next on the docket to do some transformation.”

“The Gray Eagle company that was in Alaska is going to move to Hawaii – and what we see over time is, as the Army determines what type of larger-class unmanned aerial systems it uses, that those will land in the CAB.”

The general said longer-range drones “are essential to support the ranges that we can now shoot out to, particularly with HIMARS.”

In fact, 25th ID was the first U.S. infantry division to receive HIMARS, a weapon that greatly extends the formation’s reach compared to incumbent M777 and M119 towed howitzers. Because of HIMARS, Bartholomees pointed out his “division artillery is really what transformed the most.”

Maj. Gen. James Bartholomees (left), the U.S: Army 25th Infantry Division’s commanding general, addresses media on a beach alongside Philippine and Japanese colleagues during the Balikatan exercise in the Philippines in May 2026. (Gordon Arthur/staff)

He highlighted how the “Tropic Lightning” Division performed a number of HIMARS infiltrations to Luzon Strait islands during recent Philippine wargames. Indeed, Exercises Balikatan and Salaknib allowed 25th ID to test new tactics and technologies from April to June.

The Ranger-qualified general added that the Army wants maximum flexibility in “new technologies, drones, counter-drones, electronic warfare, software-enabled technologies, and less [reliance] on a program of record that, by the time you receive it, is obsolete and you’re stuck with it for too long.”

For example, Bartholomees praised the Infantry Squad Vehicle that makes his soldiers “more lethal, light and mobile.” By increasing the mobility of his two infantry brigades, it helped shed a lot of needless vehicles. “Infantry brigades had too much stuff, too many vehicles, they were too unwieldy,” he said.

Balikatan and Salaknib were valuable to 25th ID because “you don’t really know if [equipment] is going to work until you operate with it in these environments,” Bartholomees explained.

He also highlighted the democratization of electronic-warfare capabilities across units, in addition to the transformation of communication systems. “We’re one of two divisions in the U.S. Army that’s conducting what’s called Next-Generation Command and Control,” he explained. This entails moving to smaller form factors and software-enabled systems.

Pushing new capabilities into frontline units is vital for 25th ID, especially when so far from home in places like the Philippines. “Shipping capability costs really drive forward the need for us to innovate,” he said.

One response has been the Forge, an expeditionary capability that allows soldiers to manufacture spare parts using 3D printing, for example. Bartholomees said the Forge is important “because it’s helping to thicken our sustainment lines by creating capability, creating parts and manufacturing forward where we can”.

He said 25th ID’s fielding of new technologies will continue unabated: “We’re literally transforming all the time,” although “we do have to manage how we do this, and we have to be disciplined in this approach.”

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——美国陆军第25步兵师（25th ID）在过去几年中经历了翻天覆地的变化，但其指挥官詹姆斯·巴塞洛缪少将解释说，未来还将有更大的变革。

巴托洛梅斯在菲律宾接受《防务新闻》采访时证实，作为“接触转型”计划的创始单位之一，他麾下的五个旅中已有四个进行了重大改造。继机动步兵旅、炮兵旅和后勤保障旅之后，他透露第25战斗航空旅（CAB）是“下一个即将进行改造的部队”。

“原先在阿拉斯加的灰鹰公司将迁往夏威夷——随着时间的推移，我们看到，随着陆军确定使用哪种类型的大型无人机系统，这些系统最终都会落户于作战航空旅。”

这位将军表示，远程无人机“对于支持我们现在能够射击的射程至关重要，特别是对于HIMARS系统而言。”

事实上，第25步兵师是美国第一个装备HIMARS火箭炮的步兵师，与当时装备的M777和M119牵引式榴弹炮相比，HIMARS极大地扩展了该师的作战范围。巴塞洛缪指出，正是由于HIMARS的装备，“师属炮兵的实力才发生了如此巨大的变化”。

2026年5月，美国陆军第25步兵师师长詹姆斯·巴塞洛缪少将（左）在菲律宾举行的“肩并肩”联合军演期间，与菲律宾和日本的同行在海滩上向媒体发表讲话。（戈登·阿瑟/工作人员摄）

他重点介绍了“热带闪电”师在近期菲律宾军事演习中如何多次使用HIMARS导弹系统渗透吕宋海峡诸岛。事实上，从4月到6月，在“肩并肩”和“萨拉克尼布”联合军演中，第25步兵师得以测试新的战术和技术。

这位具备游骑兵资格的将军补充说，陆军希望在“新技术、无人机、反无人机、电子战、软件赋能技术”方面拥有最大的灵活性，并减少对“已记录项目的依赖，因为当你收到它时，它已经过时了，而你却不得不长期使用它”。

例如，巴塞洛缪称赞了步兵班组车辆，认为它使他的士兵“更具杀伤力、更轻便、更灵活”。通过提高他麾下两个步兵旅的机动性，该车辆帮助他精简了许多不必要的车辆。“步兵旅装备太多，车辆太多，太笨重了，”他说。

巴利卡坦和萨拉克尼布对第 25 步兵师来说很有价值，因为“你只有在这些环境下使用后才能真正知道（装备）是否有效，”巴塞洛缪斯解释说。

他还强调了各部队电子战能力的普及化以及通信系统的转型。“我们是美国陆军中仅有的两个正在进行所谓‘下一代指挥与控制’项目的师之一，”他解释说。这包括采用更小尺寸的设备以及软件驱动的系统。

对于第25步兵师来说，将新技术部署到一线部队至关重要，尤其是在像菲律宾这样远离家乡的地方。“运输新技术的成本确实促使我们更加迫切地需要进行创新，”他说道。

其中一项应对措施是“锻造厂”（Forge），这是一种远征作战能力，例如，它允许士兵使用3D打印技术制造备件。巴塞洛缪表示，“锻造厂”之所以重要，“是因为它通过创造能力、制造零件以及在条件允许的情况下进行前沿生产，帮助我们加强了后勤保障体系”。

他表示，第 25 步兵师将继续毫不间断地部署新技术：“我们一直在进行变革，”尽管“我们必须管理好变革的方式，并且必须严格遵守这种方法。”

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。