The US Army will redesignate its Futures and Concepts Command as the US Army Futures and Autonomous Systems Command (FASCOM), placing responsibility for integrating autonomous capabilities across its warfighting functions under a new three-star command.
General Christopher LaNeve, the US Army’s vice chief of staff and acting chief of Staff, selected the command for redesignation following Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle’s 1 October autonomous initiatives memorandum.
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“This goes beyond drones. FASCOM will pioneer operational concepts that harness autonomous capabilities across all warfighting functions,” LaNeve said.
FASCOM will consolidate work undertaken by the Combat Capabilities Development Command, Medical Research and Development Command, 75th Innovation Command, Joint Modernization Command and Transformation Decision Analysis Center.
The command will support the newly established Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Autonomy, which is tasked with accelerating the integration of autonomous technologies.
LaNeve has directed FASCOM to develop corps-level autonomous capabilities. The Army’s five corps will test equipment, assess tactics and make recommendations on autonomous mission sets, with the results intended to inform wider implementation.
The planned experiments include an autonomous fires battery and an autonomous watercraft company in I Corps, an autonomous armoured reconnaissance company in III Corps and an autonomous breaching company in V Corps.
XVIII Airborne Corps will test autonomous aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as lift companies, while 8th Army will examine the pairing of crewed and uncrewed rotary-wing aircraft.
The aviation experiment will give attack helicopter pilots direct control of uncrewed aircraft system sensors for beyond-line-of-sight targeting and coordination of crewed-uncrewed fires, according to the Army.
LaNeve also designated Fort Rucker, Alabama, as the Army’s UAS Autonomy Center of Excellence.
“Fort Rucker is unique in that we can bring together warfighting experts and cutting-edge commercial capabilities to test technology the way we intend to fight it,” he said.
The command has also been instructed to create experimental formations focused on autonomous long-range fires, protection, tanks, logistics and obstacle breaching.
These formations will be among the first to receive 390A Robotic Technicians, expanding the deployment of autonomy and robotics specialists beyond special operations units.
