Ukraine war tactics reaffirm US Army’s modernization thrust, service chief says

WASHINGTON — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown the U.S. Army that its modernization priorities are properly focused, Gen. James McConville, the service’s chief of staff, told reporters during a July 7 visit to U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.

McConville was joined by the command’s new leader, Gen. Darryl Williams , who took over the job from Gen. Chris Cavoli, who now serves as the commander of U.S. European Command.

The U.S. Army’s forces in Europe are busy supporting and training Ukrainian troops and are capturing lessons learned from the fight in the country, according to McConville. He said that Ukraine’s deputy land forces commander has provided war insights to the U.S. military as well as to other NATO countries who are seeking to help the country defend itself against Russia’s invasion.

McConville stressed combat leadership skills as key for success in large-scale, combined-arms operations, in addition to logistics, training and the ability to disperse command-and-control across the battlefield and at every echelon.

The fighting has also shown the importance of long-range precision fires , he added.

For the U.S. Army, that is its number one modernization priority. The service is poised to initially field its Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) , the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) weapon system and a Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile in fiscal 2023 to take out enemy targets from a safe, stand-off distance.

“Now these are extremely long-range precision fires, but that reaffirms our commitment to developing those capabilities,” McConville said.

The Army set up a four-star command less than five years ago — Army Futures Command — that is focused on developing and fielding capabilities across six major modernization priorities: Long-Range Precision Fires, Next-Generation Combat Vehicles, Future Vertical Lift, the Network, Air-and-Missile Defense, and Soldier Lethality.

The Army is also focused on countering unmanned aircraft systems on the battlefield, a crucial capability as flying drones continue to show how vulnerable even heavily armored tanks can be to strikes from above.

McConville noted how artillery that is being used in the fight in Ukraine has been targeted by Russian UAS, requiring counter-drone systems to protect the cannons.

The need for armored fighting vehicles is also on display in Ukraine, reaffirming the U.S. Army’s plans to pursue next-generation combat vehicle efforts, according to McConville.

The Army entered the critical design and prototype phases of a competition to develop a new Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, which is expected to be fielded by 2030. Industry has been taking notes from Ukraine as it begins detailed design work on possible vehicle plans.

The Ukrainian military and Eastern European allies also wants more helicopters, and the Army is seeing long-range capabilities as well as greater lethality and stand-off as particularly vital features in a future vertical lift aircraft, McConville said. The service poised to select a winner to build a new Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft in September and is in the midst of a competitive prototyping phase for a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft — both expected to be fielded in the early 2030s.

Having a robust information network is also proving important, McConville noted. The Army is pursuing a modern, resilient battlefield network as one of its top priorities. Ukraine has struggled with its communications systems.

Also vital to the fight are better air-and-missile defense capabilities , the chief stressed. “The Ukrainians have been very effective with their Stinger [man-portable air defense systems] and their [other] air defense systems,” McConville said.

Bringing all those capabilities together on the battlefield makes the difference, he added. “The notion of speed, range and convergence, the ability to locate targets on the battlefield and quickly service them with lethal means is going to be very, very important now and even more important in the future.”

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

华盛顿——美国陆军参谋长詹姆斯·麦康维尔将军在7月7日访问位于德国威斯巴登的美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部时告诉记者，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰表明美国陆军的现代化优先事项是正确的。

麦康维尔与该司令部的新任领导人达里尔·威廉姆斯将军一同出席了活动，威廉姆斯将军接替了克里斯·卡沃利将军的职务，卡沃利将军现在担任美国欧洲司令部司令。

据麦康维尔称，驻欧美军正忙于支援和训练乌克兰军队，并从乌克兰的战斗中汲取经验教训。他还表示，乌克兰陆军副司令已向美军以及其他寻求帮助乌克兰抵御俄罗斯入侵的北约国家提供了战争方面的见解。

麦康维尔强调，除了后勤、训练以及在战场上和各个层级分散指挥控制的能力之外，战斗领导技能也是大规模联合兵种作战取得成功的关键。

他还补充说，这场战斗也表明了远程精确射击的重要性。

对美国陆军而言，这是其首要的现代化优先事项。该军种计划在2023财年率先部署其精确打击导弹（PrSM）、增程型火炮（ERCA）武器系统和中程能力（MRC）导弹，以便从安全的远距离打击敌方目标。

“这些都是超远程精确射击，但这再次表明我们致力于发展这些能力，”麦康维尔说。

不到五年前，陆军成立了一个四星级司令部——陆军未来司令部——专注于发展和部署六大现代化优先事项的能力：远程精确火力、下一代作战车辆、未来垂直起降、网络、防空反导和士兵杀伤力。

陆军还致力于在战场上对抗无人机系统，这是一项至关重要的能力，因为飞行无人机不断表明，即使是重型装甲坦克也可能很容易受到来自空中的打击。

麦康维尔指出，在乌克兰战斗中使用的火炮曾遭到俄罗斯无人机系统的攻击，因此需要反无人机系统来保护这些大炮。

麦康维尔表示，乌克兰也展现了对装甲战车的需求，这再次印证了美国陆军推进下一代作战车辆研发的计划。

陆军已进入新型可选载人战车研发竞赛的关键设计和原型制作阶段，该战车预计将于 2030 年前投入使用。工业界一直在借鉴乌克兰的经验，开始对可能的战车方案进行详细设计。

麦康维尔表示，乌克兰军方及其东欧盟友也希望获得更多直升机，而陆军则认为，未来垂直起降飞机的远程作战能力、更强的杀伤力和更远的作战距离尤为重要。陆军计划在9月份选定一家中标方，负责建造新型未来远程突击飞机（FRAA），目前正处于未来攻击侦察机（FARA）的竞争性原型机研发阶段——这两款飞机预计都将在2030年代初投入使用。

麦康维尔指出，拥有强大的信息网络也至关重要。陆军正将建设现代化、高弹性的战场网络作为其首要任务之一。乌克兰的通信系统一直存在问题。

这位参谋长强调，更强的防空和反导能力对这场战斗也至关重要。“乌克兰的‘毒刺’（便携式防空系统）和其他防空系统都非常有效，”麦康维尔说。

他补充说，将所有这些能力整合到战场上至关重要。“速度、射程和协同作战能力，即在战场上定位目标并迅速用致命手段予以打击的能力，现在非常非常重要，将来会更加重要。”

珍·贾德森是一位屡获殊荣的记者，为《防务新闻》报道陆地战争。她也曾为《政治报》和《内幕防务》工作。她拥有波士顿大学新闻学硕士学位和凯尼恩学院文学学士学位。