U.S. Army Stands Up New Command to Counter China’s Area Denial Strategy with Lethal Drones, Long-Range Missiles

U.S. Naval Institute ^ | JUNE 22, 2026 | AARON-MATTHEW LARIOSA

[Retain Mike]

U.S. Army Pacific has created a new command that will link Stryker brigades, long-range missile launchers, unmanned vessels and attack drones to break adversary area denial networks, such as those fielded by China.

Combining the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams of the 7th Infantry Division with the long-range precision fires, air defense and intelligence capabilities assigned to the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, the Multi-Domain Command – Pacific is the result of years of experimentation across the first island chain.

“Our division will employ capabilities such as unmanned surface vessels; long-range, one-way attack drones; and launched effects to penetrate the adversary’s anti-access/area-denial network,” Maj. Gen. Bernard Harrington, commanding general of the new formation, said Thursday during the designation ceremony.

The Washington state-based formations have led the ground branch’s efforts to gear up for a potential conflict with China. Compared to the service’s mechanized units in Europe and South Korea, these troops field highly-mobile missile launchers, new troop carriers and advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. Recently procured unmanned surface vessels and one-way attack drones are also starting to be fielded by American forces operating in the first island chain.

According to Harrington, the Multi-Domain Command will lead efforts to refine the Cross Domain Contact Layer concept, a plan that envisions dispersed Army units capable of detecting, targeting and destroying enemy forces while operating within the area denial networks. The command will use artificial intelligence to decrease the amount of time needed to process commands for troops, he said.

Beijing has heavily invested in denial networks, designed to counter the U.S. military’s conventional forces. Among the most pressing challenges facing American forces positioned along the first and second island chains are China’s vast arsenal of anti-ship cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles. These missile forces are further bolstered by increasingly modern and capable Chinese naval and air forces, which have been training east of the first island chain.

Any potential conflict between the U.S. and China, such as a Taiwan invasion, would have to contend with the People’s Liberation Army’s extensive long-range strike capabilities.

For the Army, countering these dilemmas has manifested in a plan that seeks to blind and paralyze the enemy from being able to mount a strike against American forces. A briefing at the 2026 Land Forces Pacific Symposium and Exposition last month from the Multi-Domain Command – Pacific’s deputy commander explained that the formation will be a “covering force” for American and allied units.

“[Multi-Domain Commands] are self-contained and operating independently from the main body, developing the situation, preventing enemy observation and preventing the enemy from directing indirect fires,” reads a service release.

The Marine Corps has a similar concept developed through its Force Design initiative with the Marine Littoral Regiment, a formation that also plans to operate within contested environments, observe and track the enemy and support joint strikes against enemy forces.

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: army; china; drones; missiles

[Retain Mike]

Could this possibly mean DOD is refocusing from DEI to efforts to figure out how to fight the next war?

[Paal Gulli]

The Army Times made this public on 15 May. Leave it to the navy to be five weeks late.

[Retain Mike]

One comment in the article said it was a slow news day.

[Nextrush]

Go watch a soccer game but China is being pushed around like Russia was over Ukraine and Iran was for all these years by Israel-US.

Heading for hot war again I guess.