Personnel in support of Valiant Shield conduct final preflight checks on a Vanilla, an ultra-long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, June 13, 2024. Exercises such as Valiant Shield allow the Indo-Pacific Command Joint Forces the opportunity to integrate forces from all branches of service and with our allies to conduct precise, lethal, and overwhelming multi-axis, multi-domain effects that demonstrate the strength and versatility of the Joint Force and our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

On June 16, 2024 3d Multi-Domain Task Force and 1-181 Field Artillery Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard employed the U.S. Army Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (AML) and the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) as part of the Valiant Shield 24 Combined Joint SINKEX. The AML and PrSm engaged a maritime target alongside other joint assets during the SINKEX. The VS24 SINKEX is the first employment of both the AML and the PrSM outside of the U.S and is a significant milestone in the Army’s continuing development of long-range fires capabilities.

A U.S. Air Force Maj. B-2 pilot marshals a B-2 Spirit bomber, deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in support of Valiant Shield 24, June 13, 2024. The speed, flexibility, and readiness of our strategic bombers plays a critical role in our ability to deter potential adversaries and signal our unwavering support to our allies and partners. Counter-maritime missions provide valuable training opportunities to improve our interoperability and demonstrate that our forces are capable of operating anywhere, anytime, to meet any challenge decisively.

FORT BLISS, Texas — With the insights gained during Project Convergence Capstone 4 fresh on leaders' minds following two months of experimentation in California and other locations around the West Coast, the Army modernization enterprise is continuing its work in 2024 at exercises and experiments in the Pacific and Europe.

Project Convergence experiments are designed to strengthen strategic readiness and experiment with capabilities, formations and emerging concepts. The U.S. Army Futures and Concepts Center executes over 60-70 experiments every year, in an effort known as persistent experimentation. These experiments are executed by the different organizations across the Army Futures Command enterprise and includes experiments such as Project Convergence-Europe and Project Convergence-Pacific.

The purpose of PC-E and PC-P experiments are to execute efforts with theater armies in support of the modernization needs of geographic combatant commands, in the context of their regional near-peer adversaries.

PC-P and PC-E are conducted in both the European and Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility and will align with one exercise a year in a theater. These experiments are designed to demonstrate current and emerging capabilities in a multi-domain environment. They push forward the capability of persistent experimentation, feeding lessons into PC Capstone events and specifically focus on Army service component command gaps addressing the combatant command integrated priority list.

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Recently completed was Project Convergence-Pacific 24, during which six teams from the U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command, FCC, spread to the Philippines, Japan, Hawaii, Guam, South Korea and Washington state to gain Army transformation insights during Valiant Shield 24.

VS24, which took place from June 7-18, 2024, was led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command as a multinational field training exercise focused on achieving interoperability in an all-domain environment. The exercise included forces from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force and partner nations.

During PC-P24, the JMC team gathered observations and insights on capabilities like High Altitude Balloons and the Vanilla Ultra-long Endurance Unmanned Aerial System, and formations like Multi-Domain Task Forces.

The Joint Warfighting Assessment, coming in the fall in Europe, will be tied to the Avenger Triad exercise. JWAs focus on the Army operating concepts. The Joint Warfighting Assessment is the annual capstone force modernization exercise for the U.S. Army. JWA is designed to achieve four enduring HQDA exercise objectives: improve force readiness; obtain Soldier and leader observations and feedback on modernization solutions; integrate and assess MDO concepts, capabilities, and force designs at the echelon; and integrate and assess joint and multinational interoperability.

The efforts at PC-P24 and JWA24 are part of an integrated campaign of learning with all lessons funneling into Project Convergence Capstone 5 next spring, said Lt. Col. Zachary Quintana, who led JMC’s experimental hub in Hawaii during PC-P24.

“During these joint and multinational exercises, we take the opportunity to observe the latest in joint warfighting and gain insights into where progress is being made.”