US Army: Transforming in Contact and Army 2030

[FJAG]

We don't seem to have a unified thread on discussions about the ongoing US Army transformation initiatives. Here's how they describe that.

Transforming in Contact is the Army's adaptation of its organizations and delivery of new technology into the hands of Soldiers so that they can experiment, innovate, and be ready to fight on a modern battlefield. It accelerates the fielding of necessary capabilities and leverages commercial-off-the-shelf products to get new capabilities to the force fast. Soldiers can organize and integrate the capabilities during realistic training scenarios, adapting their formations to fit the need and making technology work for them rather than working for the technology. This informs how we fight and how we organize in the future.

To start us off is this recent article about the army to shift a large portion of its attack helicopter fleet of AH64Es from the active army to the ARNG as well as other adjustments to their aviation fleet.

U.S. Army Plans Major AH-64E Shift Amid Transformation | Aviation Week Network

The U.S. Army will further realign its attack helicopter fleet by shifting a large amount of its advanced AH-64E fleet to the National Guard.

aviationweek.com

 

[FJAG]

Informing the Army’s Future Structure

 

[Kirkhill]

Infantry brigades shift to mobile brigades in Army transformation

Over the next two years, the U.S. Army will convert 25 Infantry Brigade Combat Teams into Mobile Brigade Combat Teams.

www.armytimes.com

No drones for Army squads, teams, 25th Infantry Division leader says

Amid a push to put more small drones in soldiers' hands, the Army is learning there’s a ceiling to the number of unmanned systems that units can handle.

www.armytimes.com

 

[Kirkhill]

How the Army aims to transform its armor brigades

As the Army examines its armor formations under TIC 2.0, it wants to avoid placing them in a potential stalemate, similar to what is being seen in Ukraine.

www.armytimes.com

All in one place.

 

[Kirkhill]

Autonomous launchers in three sizes. Based on one common pod that can carry various missiles.

Army developing new iterations of autonomous missile launcher

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — A major milestone has been achieved for the Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher as it moves toward augmenting — and possibly repla...

www.army.mil

Autonomous Military Vehicles | Robotic Convoy & UGV Solutions

Explore autonomous military vehicles for logistics and combat support. Leader-follower convoys and unmanned ground vehicles built for the future battlefield.

oshkoshdefense.com

 

[Kirkhill]

And the US Army MDTFs are starting to receive their center-piece 1700 mile hypersonic missiles.

US Army’s first hypersonic battery to be fully equipped by December

The US Army’s first hypersonic battery will have its full load of eight missiles by December, marking a major milestone in the program.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Kirkhill]

RTX develops DeepFires to give U.S. Army autonomous missile launcher for ground strike and air defense

RTX unveils DeepFires at AUSA 2025, an autonomous launcher giving the U.S. Army dual capability for long-range strike and air defense missions.

armyrecognition.com

 

[Kirkhill]

Back to the Mobile Brigade Combat Team and the correct use of the ISV.

Short form - not for advance to contact, recce leads.

Dismount before contact: Learning to fight with the infantry squad vehicle

How the Army is adapting to protect soldiers in its new open-air dune buggy.

www.defenseone.com

Major problem - the need for a lightweight CUAS solution....

See the GBAD thread for the offered solutions to that problem.

Honeywell touted a pickup truck that could take out drones while moving at highway speeds.

 

[Kirkhill]

Actually my comment about the advance to contact is overly glib and wrong.

The mounted advance to contact will end when recce drones make contact. The dismounted advance will continue.

And problems will ensue when the enemy learns how to defeat the drone screen by camouflage, deception, EW and CUAS.

Ambushes and meeting engagements will still happen.

 

[Kirkhill]

And the M1E3 Abrams will be fielded next year. Not a decade from now.

The Army's new tank will roll out a decade early. Here’s how they did it

Soldiers are expected to be riding in the M1E3 next year, well ahead of the tank's planned 2030s arrival.

www.defenseone.com

 

[Infanteer]

US Army activates Western Hemisphere Command in historic transition ceremony

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Dec. 5, 2025 – The Department of the Army activated the U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command in a historic transition ceremony today...

www.army.mil

Interesting, US Army stood down three Service Component Commands, FORSCOM, USASOUTHCOM, and USANORTHCOM that belonged to the US Army, US Southern Command, and US Northern Command respectively and created a USA Western Hemisphere Command in its place. A single four star hat for operations in the Americas. FORSCOM was essentially the "Army Force Generator" that owned I Corps, III Corps, and XVIII Airborne Corps and their respective divisions for allocation to COCOMs for operations.

This likely ties to the "Trump Corollary of the Munroe Doctrine" that the recently released US National Defense Strategy references in providing a single ground force employer for the US' new top priority, hemispheric defence.

Also interesting are the details, which highlight where the Corps (and most of the US Army's combat power) will be assigned. I Corps (7 ID, 25 ID, 11 Abn) will move to USARPAC under INDOPACOM while III Corps (1 Cav, 1 AD, 1 ID) will move to USAREUR-AF under EUCOM/AFRICOM. 4 ID will shift from III Corps to I Corps. XVIII Airborne Corps (82 Abn, 101 AA, 10 Mtn, 3 ID) will be assigned to USAWHC.

Although forces will be allocated to COCOMs as required, the Army has basically split its forces into three, and now has forces assigned to COCOMs on a permanent basis for operations.

 

[Kirkhill]

‘Transform to dominate’: Army transitions to mobile brigade combat teams in Bavaria ceremony

The Army in Europe deactivated one storied cavalry squadron and activated a parachute infantry battalion in its place.

www.stripes.com

Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade on Thursday deactivated its 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, and replaced it with the reactivated 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, during a ceremony at Tower Barracks

“This gives us a lot more tactical flexibility,” battalion commander Lt. Col. Austin Commons said afterward. “We can move around the battlefield a lot more quickly. It’s reducing soldier fatigue by getting them into light vehicles, but then our mission, our purpose, doesn’t really change.”

....

“A paratrooper in this formation today is just as likely to kill an enemy by flying an explosive drone into their position than by shooting them with a rifle,”

...

"Fourteen active-duty and 20 National Guard infantry brigade combat teams will make the switch to the more mobile units over the next two years, the Congressional Research Service said in a report on Dec. 9. The new teams will see their force reduced by 2,600 soldiers to a total of 1,900 apiece.

"Individual infantry battalion assault companies will be replaced by multipurpose companies consisting of the battalion’s mortar and scout platoons. Another impending change is the creation of a unit called an “effects platoon,” which will operate counter-drone systems and the battalion’s primary loitering munitions, the report said."

 

[Kirkhill]

So, from the above

The Multi-Purpose Companies, known to us as Combat Support Companies, in the ISV equipped brigades, are likely to incorporate these:

a 7.62mm Skyranger RCWS

American Rheinmetall presents Skyranger 762 air defense system on ISV-C at AUSA 2025

American Rheinmetall presented the Skyranger 762 at AUSA 2025, a U-SHORAD system on GM Defense’s ISV-Cargo/ISV-C using twin M134D Miniguns and EchoShield radar.

armyrecognition.com

and an 81m mortar vehicle

GMP’s Scorpion Light mobile mortar system to be trialled in US Army’s TiC 2.0 initiative - European Security & Defence

Global Military Products has been invited to participate in the US Army’s TiC 2.0 initiative with its Scorpion Light 81 mm mobile mortar system.

euro-sd.com

Personally I would go with the 30mm M230LF rather than the 7.62mm although a pair of M134s are cool as well.

 

[Kirkhill]

This is Ukraine but it might be the direction of travel for the Skyranger. And I am still fond of a demountable portee system for the infantry, with or without independent propulsion.

https://united24media.com/latest-news/no-hiding-for-russian-troops-as-ukrainian-ground-drones-gain-ai-vision-with-a-1-kilometer-kill-zone-14872

 

[Kirkhill]

Ukraine’s Ground Robots Are Getting a 30mm Cannon—Bad News for Russian Armor

A Ukrainian defense tech firm plans to create a robotic combat system equipped with a 30mm cannon, enhancing the battlefield role of unmanned vehicles.

united24media.com

And the next step up.