An ominous new U.S. Army report says the homeland no longer will be a sanctuary from war, as China and Russia "believe they are already actively in conflict with the United States" and are launching hybrid attacks that could lead to large-scale combat.
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) late last week released a report titled, "The Operational Environment 2024-2034: Large-Scale Combat Operations."
In the report, the Army warns that China and Russia are attacking the U.S. in unconventional ways, working to "establish footholds" within critical networks including government systems, private industry, and social media.
Ultimately, that could lead to more conventional large-scale combat operations (LSCO).
"At the onset of LSCO, adversaries will probably shift from nonattributable cyber and information operations toward more destructive, physical effects," the TRADOC report said. "Adversaries are likely to escalate their actions using ultra-long-range systems with conventional payloads, asymmetric platforms, commercial-off-the-shelf UAS [unmanned aerial systems], and sabotage to threaten key infrastructure and operations.
"Refining mobilization processes will probably be necessary to respond quickly to complex threats. Increasing threat awareness across all domains and hardening military infrastructure could help improve preparedness."
China and Russia pose conventional threats to the U.S. homeland through long-range conventional-strike capabilities that include strategic bombers, submarines, and even hypersonic weapons.
The report said that Russia's war in Ukraine will be beneficial long term.
"Russia is gaining combat experience in large-scale combat operations and proving that simply outlasting an enemy is a potentially valid military option," the report said. "The war in Ukraine has shown that the next fight will prominently feature information warfare and focus on multidomain effects.
"Fires will be the center of gravity, making protection a priority and maneuver difficult."
The report said U.S. adversaries' goal is to "bolster collection capabilities against us, disrupt our critical functions, and delay our ability to project force."
"China, Russia, and other adversaries are investing heavily in hybrid and irregular capabilities, such as information and cyber operations, to attack soft targets and systems within the territory of the United States and its Allies," The report said.
"These attacks can create outsized effects at relatively low cost and effort and with less risk of escalation than traditional kinetic strikes."
According to the report, China and Russia will try to hide their involvement in hybrid attacks while attempting to avoid escalation to large-scale combat.
"Improved information technology capabilities enable state and nonstate actors to challenge the Army in multiple domains simultaneously," the report said.
Adversaries will seek information from "a variety of open sources or unwitting internet users."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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