The Joint Reconnaissance Strike Complex

If conflict were to break out in the Indo-Pacific region, geography and the tyranny of distance would combine with the capabilities of the region’s militaries to produce a very different kind of war than anything the US military is accustomed to. Prognosticators think it will be a war fought with missiles and drones, at long range, with victory turning on informed and timely decisions—blind the enemy before he can blind you. The tools needed to sense and strike at the enemy’s critical systems rely on the network known as the reconnaissance-strike complex. This complex is composed of an abundance of joint sensors, shooters, and command-and-control nodes dispersed geographically across the Indo-Pacific. Its effectiveness rests on the ability to converge these assets to deliver effects and open windows of opportunity when faced with a first-strike operation from an adversary like China. These systems’ interoperability must be validated through exercises and rehearsals on key maritime terrain, with all relevant components of the joint force. The United States Army and Marine Corps conducted one such rehearsal during Artillery Relocation Training Program (ARTP) 23.4 in Hokkaido, Japan this year. The exercise highlighted the friction involved in planning and executing a joint exercise without preexisting relationships. However, once the task force was established, it brought to bear the full spectrum of communications, fires, and multidomain reconnaissance capabilities, illustrating what only an integrated joint force can accomplish in the first island chain.