REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — Soldiers of the 1st Space Brigade led Army space efforts during Project Convergence 2022 with space capabilities and the ability to integrate with warfighting partners.
Several thousand U.S., U.K. and Australian service members, researchers and industry partners experimented with and assessed new technologies at U.S. military installations across the Western U.S. between September and November as part of Project Convergence 2022.
The U.S. Army’s Project Convergence is a flagship event for modernization learning, experimentation and demonstration campaign. The Army led its first large-scale Project Convergence experiment in 2020, and has continued to grow the scope, scale and complexity of the event annually.
This year, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s 1st Space Brigade filled a vital role in the event by demonstrating the concept of “close space support” in a tangible way to warfighters in the maneuver, special operations and cyber realms.
“We pride ourselves on being the Army’s sole deployable multi-component space brigade and take our responsibility very seriously to push the envelope on employing space effects at the tactical level,” said Col. Donald K. Brooks, 1st Space Brigade commander. “What our Soldiers achieved during PC22 was incredible, but this is just the starting point. We continuously push the envelope on future concepts with the mentality to experiment constantly and fail fast, driving adaptation and the achievement of success on a tactically relevant timeline.
“I cannot highlight our Soldiers enough for the massive successes and ‘first-time’ achievements during PC22,” Brooks added. “The future of Army Space and the entire joint force is in good hands with all the young ‘space warriors’ who made history this month and will continue to shape the future of space.”
Participants evaluated approximately 300 technologies, including long-range fires, unmanned aerial systems, autonomous fighting vehicles and next-generation sensors while focusing on advancing joint and multinational interoperability in future operational environments.
The joint force and multinational partners utilized key learning and experimentation outcomes from Project Convergence 2022 to hone new military technologies, many of which offer state-of-the-art problem-solving and network integration capabilities for the future fight.
Capt. William A. Heida, 1st Space Brigade, said the brigade’s Soldiers filled various roles during the event including serving as test crew, space control planners, forward support element, as well as various other positions.
“Ultimately, 1st Space Brigade Soldiers helped to integrate cutting edge space effects into joint force experimentation with the endstate of improving battlefield situational awareness, connecting sensors with shooters, and accelerating the decision-making timeline,” Heida said. “PC22 afforded our Soldiers the chance to integrate over-the-horizon space effects at the tactical edge in conjunction with layered experimental kinetic and non-kinetic effects. This posed a unique opportunity for our Soldiers to test equipment in new ways and increase future operational effectiveness by developing innovative solutions to better integrate our systems into the battlefield of today, and plan for the fight of the future."
“I am excited and humbled to have been part of the space integration in PC22,” Heida added. “I enjoyed being part of the campaign of learning and am excited to see the quickly approaching developments in the space community due to the hard work and creativity of our Soldiers.”
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