US general calls for military renewal to prepare for future wars

During a trip to Europe this week, the top US military officer revealed he was working on proposals for a high-level reorganization.

“We’re going to have to make really fundamental changes to the military to adapt to the new era. And to do that, we need institutions that promote it,” he told reporters. .

Last week, he warned graduate cadets at West Point Military Academy that the military’s technological prowess was in jeopardy. No longer the unchallenged power, the United States is being tested in Europe by Russia’s aggression and in Asia by China’s strong economic and military growth.

“We’re going to have to really think hard about fundamental changes to the national army,” Mr Milley said in London. “This plan could be decisive for the next conflict… I suggest, in 10 to 15 years, we need to make these fundamental changes.”

The Pentagon has increased investment in new technologies. Accordingly, the Office of New Capabilities Policy will help integrate governance systems, hypersonic technology, energy weapons and other innovations into the department’s strategy, planning and process guidance. budget.

The President and Secretary of Defense’s chief military adviser, Milley, said he was also thinking about the impact of new technologies, led by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Army is considering options for the operational and structural design of the force – brigades, divisions and fleets – as well as its regulations.

“The organizations we have today may not be optimally designed to take advantage of new technologies,” he said.

Milley noted the existing technologies behind Fitbits and iPhones allow soldiers to better sense the environment when using long-range precision ammunition, which in turn allows them to easily destroy their targets.

Along with AI’s potential to speed up decision-making on the battlefield, robotics and autonomous technology are also radically transforming. “Especially for the military,” he said. “We have a lot of tasks that can and will be carried out by robots.”

“Drones are an example. You can see in the future, flying vehicles will mainly use robots, the same goes for tanks or warships,” Milley emphasized.

This improvement, he said, could reduce casualties and human costs as well as improve logistics, the impact of which was “almost limitless”. He noted that the Pentagon should invest in those technologies and change its concepts of how to fight, its doctrine, its organization, and develop leadership skills.

General Milley concluded: “I believe we are in a period of fundamental change in the character of war. Changes in the way you fight, where you fight, the doctrine, the equipment, the tactics, This is perhaps the greatest fundamental change in the history of war.”