Army vice chief of staff and Army acting chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve recently selected U.S. Army Futures and Concepts Command for redesignation as U.S. Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM).
The move is in response to Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle’s army autonomous initiatives memo.
“We’ve got to change our approach from bolting on technology to rethinking how we fight,” LaNeve said. “Acting Secretary Telle and I see things the same way. Technology doesn’t fight; Soldiers do. Our job is to get them the best kit; theirs is to make it lethal. It’s that magic between industry, leadership, and Soldiers that keeps our Army ahead of anyone looking to do America harm.”
The unit will help meet Telle’s directive to rapidly integrate autonomous technologies across the Army. FASCOM will pioneer operational concepts that harness autonomous capabilities for warfighting functions.
LaNeve has tasked FASCOM with developing corps-level autonomous capabilities. The technology will be tested to validate concepts that can be scaled across the Army. The Army’s five corps will test equipment, evaluate tactics and make recommendations on accomplishing autonomous mission sets.
LaNeve also directed FASCOM to create capability-based formations centered on autonomous long-range fires, protection, tanks, logistics and obstacle breaching.