The US Army Looks to the Pacific – and Space – for Future Relevance

Por Robert Farley — The Diplomat

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Army leadership has focused on developing tools to contribute to a potential fight against China, a fight in which space assets will be critical.

Soldiers assigned to the 7th Infantry Division (Multi-Domain Command – Pacific) conduct unmanned aerial systems tests during exercise Bayonet Quest 2026 in Alpena, Michigan, Oct. 5, 2026.

The U.S. Army sees its future as preparing for a fight in the Pacific, and it’s taking lessons from both the current fight in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine. In addition to missiles, drones, and electronic warfare, that means an increasing presence for the land service in the space domain. The effort represents an attempt by the Army to maintain its relevance under geographical constraints that are less than ideal, and in an institutional context that increasingly favors long-range, high-end unmanned systems. 

Both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force have experienced embarrassing setbacks in the present war against Iran, the former because of an overcommitment of its aircraft carrier fleet and the latter because of the loss of several key assets in combat. Nevertheless, both services have contributed immensely to ongoing operations. The contribution of the U.S. Army has been more limited and less visible, in large part because of the reluctance of the Trump administration to develop serious plans for an invasion of Iran. 

Given the geography and the strategic issues at stake, a war in the Pacific is likely to resemble the Iran War much more than the Wars on Terror, which highlighted the Army’s strengths. Given this, Army leadership has focused on developing tools to contribute to a potential fight against China. The most recent and notable of these efforts is the stand up of a new Indo-Pacific task force, designed to conduct long-range missile combat and defeat area denial networks. The 4th Multi Domain Task Force is expected to integrate long-range strike with intelligence gathering and air defense capabilities in an effort to threaten and defeat efforts to impede the entry of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force into the Western Pacific. The 7th Infantry Division Multi-Domain Command has concentrated on developing plans for long-range drone and electronic warfare (EW) combat in the Western Pacific, assisted by AI tools that will manage data flow and the sequencing of targets. 

These efforts build upon the Army’s work to establish itself in space and to institutionalize networked warfare. Space assets act as the connective tissue for all of the elements that the Army is attempting to integrate into a cohesive whole with a standard operational logic. The steadily increasing profile of the U.S. Space Force complicates the institutional landscape by creating overlapping claims of bureaucratic authority. 

All of this is an artifact of the way that the U.S. military does business. Although the geography of the Western Pacific (like the Persian Gulf) favors air and sea power, the Army must be involved because its funding and future depend on its ability to contribute in critical sectors. That Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has made reforming the Army’s senior leadership a focus of his tenure only makes the situation more urgent for the organization. In a sense, what the Army is preparing to fight in the Western Pacific in order to preserve its ability to fight in the halls of Congress and the Pentagon.

Arguably, the Army’s relatively low level of commitment in the Middle East may work to the Army’s advantage, as it can commit its focus and attention to fighting the next fight instead of an intractable slog against Iran. But new technological realities always require time, experience, and a careful negotiation with institutional reality. Whether Hegseth’s Army is capable of that negotiation remains open to question.

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The U.S. Army sees its future as preparing for a fight in the Pacific, and it’s taking lessons from both the current fight in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine. In addition to missiles, drones, and electronic warfare, that means an increasing presence for the land service in the space domain. The effort represents an attempt by the Army to maintain its relevance under geographical constraints that are less than ideal, and in an institutional context that increasingly favors long-range, high-end unmanned systems. 

Both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force have experienced embarrassing setbacks in the present war against Iran, the former because of an overcommitment of its aircraft carrier fleet and the latter because of the loss of several key assets in combat. Nevertheless, both services have contributed immensely to ongoing operations. The contribution of the U.S. Army has been more limited and less visible, in large part because of the reluctance of the Trump administration to develop serious plans for an invasion of Iran. 

Given the geography and the strategic issues at stake, a war in the Pacific is likely to resemble the Iran War much more than the Wars on Terror, which highlighted the Army’s strengths. Given this, Army leadership has focused on developing tools to contribute to a potential fight against China. The most recent and notable of these efforts is the stand up of a new Indo-Pacific task force, designed to conduct long-range missile combat and defeat area denial networks. The 4th Multi Domain Task Force is expected to integrate long-range strike with intelligence gathering and air defense capabilities in an effort to threaten and defeat efforts to impede the entry of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force into the Western Pacific. The 7th Infantry Division Multi-Domain Command has concentrated on developing plans for long-range drone and electronic warfare (EW) combat in the Western Pacific, assisted by AI tools that will manage data flow and the sequencing of targets. 

These efforts build upon the Army’s work to establish itself in space and to institutionalize networked warfare. Space assets act as the connective tissue for all of the elements that the Army is attempting to integrate into a cohesive whole with a standard operational logic. The steadily increasing profile of the U.S. Space Force complicates the institutional landscape by creating overlapping claims of bureaucratic authority. 

All of this is an artifact of the way that the U.S. military does business. Although the geography of the Western Pacific (like the Persian Gulf) favors air and sea power, the Army must be involved because its funding and future depend on its ability to contribute in critical sectors. That Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has made reforming the Army’s senior leadership a focus of his tenure only makes the situation more urgent for the organization. In a sense, what the Army is preparing to fight in the Western Pacific in order to preserve its ability to fight in the halls of Congress and the Pentagon.

Arguably, the Army’s relatively low level of commitment in the Middle East may work to the Army’s advantage, as it can commit its focus and attention to fighting the next fight instead of an intractable slog against Iran. But new technological realities always require time, experience, and a careful negotiation with institutional reality. Whether Hegseth’s Army is capable of that negotiation remains open to question.

Robert Farley is a senior lecturer at the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.

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Fonte: The Diplomat