The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) Battery, part of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), participated in Exercise Resolute Hunter 24-2 from June 25-27, 2024.
The Army said in a release that this marked the first integration of the service’s hypersonic capability into the bi-annual joint training exercise.
Hosted by the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC), Resolute Hunter 24-2 is the Department of Defense’s only dedicated Battle Management, Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (BMC2ISR) exercise. This year’s event brought together three participating nations and four joint services for a three-week training exercise.
Colonel Charles Kean, commander of 1MDTF, emphasized the exercise’s importance: “These scenarios provide invaluable sets and repetitions that build upon and reinforce the steadfast integration of MDTF capabilities in the broader Partnered Joint All-Domain construct.”
Bravo Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery (Long Range Fires Battalion), 1MDTF, demonstrated its ability to sustain operations for over 72 hours. The LRHW digital kill chain was successfully integrated with joint partners, providing real-time situational awareness to the joint command post.
Captain Jennifer Lee, commander of Bravo Battery, highlighted the significance of the exercise: “Exercise Resolute Hunter 24-2 demonstrated the critical role of Landpower and the Army’s indispensable contribution to joint operations. I’m proud of our team’s commitment to excellence and their ability to adapt and innovate in a complex and dynamic training scenario.”
The development of the Army’s long-range hypersonic weapon has been an extensive process. Soldiers have been involved in prototyping since 2019, with initial hardware delivered in March 2021. Following the New Equipment Training (NET) that began in September 2021, the fielding process was completed by the end of fiscal year 2023. This enabled soldiers to train on the equipment, create doctrine, and develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures.
In February 2023, the unit demonstrated its rapid deployment capability by moving the system over 3,000 miles to Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of Exercise Thunderbolt Strike. This was the system’s longest recorded overland movement to date.
As a theater-level unit and Joint Force enabler assigned to the Indo-Pacific, the 1MDTF plays a critical role in synchronizing long-range precision fires with precision effects to create multiple dilemmas for adversaries.