Stand-off: US Army prioritises long-range fires to address Chinese, Russian capabilities

摘要

US Army leaders are eyeing a string of uninhabited islands in the Western Pacific Ocean - dubbed the Senkakus by Tokyo and the Diaoyus by Beijing - as a potential location for rotating soldiers and weapons in a bid to stay prepared in case of a regional military conflict involving China. One potential option includes fielding intermediate-range missiles in the region to reach China's coast. To the west, meanwhile, the US Army is structuring for a potential landlocked fight where it would have to compete against a high volume of Russian field artillery that has a longer range than its own. Although the two regions present the army with unique problems, the service is using both to make the case for pushing forward with its top modernisation priority: long-range precision fires (LRPF) to boost a layered stand-off capability.