NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada –
The U.S. Army’s only Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) Battery, part of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), lived up to its “First-Round” lineage by participating in Bamboo Eagle, an eight-day U.S. Air Force Warfare Center-led joint exercise spanning various locations across the United States.
This exercise marked a significant milestone, as U.S. Army land-based fires were integrated into the U.S. Air Force-led exercise for the first time. Bamboo Eagle 24-3, brought together over 3,000 service members from four military branches, as well as participants from the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.
"Bamboo Eagle is all about making sure we're ready for any situation," says U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Alex Rich, 57th Wing Operations Director at Nellis Air Force Base. "We train in a variety of environments, from land to air to sea, so we're prepared for anything. It's also essential that we collaborate with other military branches, learning from their newest tools and tactics. Together, we can better understand and utilize these capabilities, strengthening our combined efforts and ensuring we're always ready to face whatever challenges come our way."
The integration effort's success hasn't gone unnoticed. As U.S. Army Lt. Col. Benjamin Blane, commander of 1MDTF's Long Range Fires Battalion (LRFB), observed, "Participating in exercises like Resolute Hunter and Bamboo Eagle allows us to showcase the capabilities and potential of land-based fires, and we're excited to see the joint community taking notice. The strong demand from our partners to integrate our capabilities into their operations is a clear validation of the value land-based fires forward in theater, and we're committed to continuing to transform and integrate alongside them."
Bravo Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (LRFB), 1MDTF, quickly integrated into Bamboo Eagle 24-3, building on momentum from previous exercises. By leveraging the force package validated at the U.S. Navy-led joint exercise Resolute Hunter in June, the battery consolidated its gains and made significant strides in interoperability. A key factor in this success was the battery's ability to deploy equipment and personnel across more than 1,000 miles and three states.
The LRHW battery's integration with the Air Force during Bamboo Eagle 24-3 enabled it to operate in a new and demanding environment. Despite extreme heat, the battery demonstrated its ability to conduct sustained operations over an extended period. Throughout the eight-day exercise, the unit maintained a high level of readiness and operational tempo, participating in every pulse iteration and achieving a new level of Total Force integration.
The LRHW battery gained valuable insights into the benefits of integrating land-based fires with Air Force operations and sustainment efforts. U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Lee, commander of Bravo Battery, 5-3 FA (LRFB), noted, "We're integrating our land-based fires with Air Force operations and sustainment efforts, giving us a unique opportunity to test our capabilities in a truly joint fashion. We've learned valuable lessons from our Air Force partners, and I'm confident we'll continue to build on this success."
The Army's LRHW development has been a multi-year endeavor, with Soldiers playing a crucial role in the prototyping process since 2019. Following initial hardware delivery in March 2021, the unit conducted New Equipment Training, consisting of four iterations, to familiarize Soldiers with the system. As the fielding process wrapped up by the end of fiscal year 2023, the unit shifted its focus to training, doctrine development, and refining tactics, techniques, and procedures.
In February 2023, the LRHW battery achieved a key milestone by successfully deploying the capability over 3,000 miles to Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of Exercise Thunderbolt Strike, showcasing the Army's ability to rapidly deploy the hypersonic system.
As a theater-level unit and Joint Force enabler, assigned to the Indo-Pacific, the 1MDTF plays a vital role in synchronizing long-range precision fires layered with long-range precision effects to create multiple dilemmas and neutralize adversary A2AD (anti-access and area denial) networks. The 1MDTF’s proven innovation, agility, and lethality have led the Army to direct five full MDTFs in strategically significant locations worldwide.