MDTF – The Modern OODA Loop
Dear Reader,
Returning for the first time since 2019 to the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) annual convention in Washington, D.C. in October, the conversation around the stands was divided into the urgency of Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has been raging since February of this year, but also from more Take a look at the growing strategic competition that China is building from afar.
Just before the conference began, the U.S. Army announced the formation of its third Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)—the second was established to serve in the Pacific, while the remaining MDTFs were based in Europe. The now Pacific-focused MTDFs were established in 2017 (Washington State) and 2022 (Hawaii), while the intermediate MDTFs were established in Germany in 2021.
The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) defines MDTF as “the rapid and continuous integration of [so that it can] Fight back and defeat an adversary capable of rivaling the United States in all areas [air, land, maritime, space and cyberspace] in competition and armed conflict. “
Essentially, it is an integral part of a joint force to counter China’s developing anti-access/area denial capabilities, especially across the competition spectrum
Speaking at the conference, General Charles Flynn, commander of the U.S. Army in the Pacific, said a fully-staffed multinational task force is about the size of a brigade with four battalions. It will include: an effects-based battalion that manages intelligence, space, electronic warfare, and cyber; a strategic long-range fires battalion (including HIMARS and hypersonic weapons); an air defense battalion; and a sustainment battalion.
In War Department publications, Army Multi-Domain Transformationwhich sums up the role of the MDTF as “continuous competition to gain a superior position that can be exploited in a crisis or conflict. By integrating non-kinetic effects and kinetic fires across all domains, the MDTF provides combatant commanders with enhanced counter-A2/AD capabilities. menu.”
In short, it appears to be a modern and faster cyberspace version of the OOPA cycle: Observe-Orient-Decide-Act… but keep getting sued.
Andrew DeVega
DARPA’s Invisible Seafarer – Manta Ray
Manta Ray is an ongoing program of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Like many of DARPA’s programs over the years, it once seemed real. But life seems to mimic the natural world (“manta” is Portuguese and Spanish for mantle — cloak or blanket).
However, it’s a serious development, which the group describes as developing an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that will operate on “long-term, long-range missions…without the need for on-site human logistical support or maintenance” autonomously carry payloads across oceans. “
According to DARPA’s Podcast, Episode 61 (which can be found on YouTube): “The main driver for getting into underwater vehicles is their ability to go to depths that humans cannot,” said Commander Kyle Woerner, DARPA’s manta ray program manager since 2018.
Woerner commented that typical vehicle design means that UUVs can have a long range but not carry much in terms of payload, or if you need to carry payloads like sensors, or any system that requires a lot of power, then a more traditional Vehicles that require propellers will not be able to provide long range and durability.
Breaking through the traditional “torpedo design”, the name is more “fit with ideas, rather than building programs around fish”.
But liberating UUVs from nearby operators is a challenge. “Part of the burden is to ease the burden on human ships,” Woerner said. Powering the spacecraft is part of that challenge—DARPA is now studying wave energy, such as converting the motion of the ocean into power. Energy capture through salinity and ocean heat flow is also seen as a potential option. But wave energy is a surface resource, while thermal energy is more localized.
think for a week
“An Ordnance Technician has a higher status than everyone else.“
– unknown
Major U.S. Arms Sales (Defense Security Cooperation Agency – DSCA).
October 20, 2022 – Japan. Standard Missile 6 BLOCK I (SM-6 BLK I) missile.
The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale of the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) Block I missile and related equipment to the Japanese government at an estimated cost of $450 million.
October 19, 2022 – Australia. MR60-R support.
The State Department has approved a possible sale of non-MDE MH-60R sustainment items and services to the Australian government at an estimated cost of $162 million. .
October 6, 2022 – Taiwan. National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), Medium-Range Air Defense System (MRADS).
The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), Medium-Range Air Defense System (MRADS) and related equipment to the government of Kuwait at an estimated cost of $3 billion.
next activities
defense of india
November 2-5, Jakarta, Indonesia
Global Military Satellite Communications 2022
8-10 November 2022, London, UK
Vietnam Defense Expo 2022
December 8-10, 2022
Hanoi, Vietnam
shooting show
January 17-20, 2023, Las Vegas, USA
thanks for reading,
Andrew DeVega
chief editor
International Armada/Asian Military Review
