US Army's 2nd MDTF activated inside Europe

The US Army activated its 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) in mid-September, with this group of soldiers based in Germany and set to support service activities in Europe and Africa.

Service leaders hosted the newest MDTF activation ceremony on 16 September and said this formation includes an intelligence, cyberspace, electronic warfare and space detachment, and a brigade support company.

One of the first tasks for the 2nd MDTF was to participate in Exercise ‘Thunder Cloud' with the Norwegian military that was designed, in part, to ‘explore' concepts associated with long-range precision fires and high-altitude balloons. During the 9–20 September exercise Raven Aerostar provided high-altitude balloons that were launched into the stratosphere to help troops glean weather pattern and targeting co-ordinates data.

“Thunder Cloud is about three things: modernisation, partnership, and readiness ... part of multi-domain operations is finding the new sensor's best shooter, so this asset here is a unique way to conduct targeting,” Lieutenant Colonel Dave Henderson, commander of the 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Field Artillery Brigade, said in a 21 September announcement.

The army is in the process of establishing several MDTFs, including in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and Arctic regions. These have been described as theatre-level manoeuvre elements intended to synchronise precision effects and precision fires across all domains against adversary anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) networks, and help the joint force execute operational plan-directed roles.