Chapter Three: North America

Abstract

In late 2020 the US Army announced the selection of variants of both the Standard Missile (SM)-6 and Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile as part of its Mid-Range Capability (MRC) concept. Intended to form an element of the army’s Long Range Precision Fires portfolio, the MRC will provide the army with a middle option between the planned Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and the planned Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon. All three of these programmes are expected to begin initial fielding in 2023. In March 2020, the US Marine Corps unveiled a new ‘Force Design 2030’ to address the priorities set out in the 2018 National Security Strategy. Notable changes include a 12,000 reduction in establishment strength, divestment of the Marines’ main battle tank fleet and fewer infantry battalions, but increased numbers of rocket artillery and uninhabited aerial vehicle units. The first tranche of active-duty personnel officially transferred from the US Air Force to the Space Force in late 2020, coinciding with the service establishing its first field command – Space Operations Command. Additional Air Force personnel will continue to transfer in 2021, with Army and Navy personnel scheduled to follow in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. In March 2020, the Counter Communications System Block 10.2 – the first openly declared offensive counter-space capability for the US Space Force – reached initial operating capability. Following the January 2020 Iranian missile attacks on US bases in Iraq, the Pentagon deployed additional Patriot surface-to-air-missile batteries to Iraq. Forceprotection demands in the Middle East continue to place heavy demands on the US Army’s air-defence force. Of the 11 non-forward-deployed Patriot battalions in the US Army, more than a third are now deployed to the Middle East, straining reset timelines and leaving comparatively few units available for potential contingency operations elsewhere. By the mid-2020 deadline, three bids were submitted for Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project: Boeing’s F/A18E/F Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Lightning II and Saab’s Gripen E. Intended to replace the air force’s CF18 multi-role combat aircraft, the project was launched in 2017 following the abandonment of a previous plan to purchase the F-35A. Deliveries are envisaged from 2025. In the interim, deliveries of ex-Australian F/A-18s continue, to help sustain the current CF-18 fleet.