Arcane Thunder 24

Citation :

 Press Release - Exercise Arcane Thunder 24 occurring in Germany and Morocco
3 - 4 minutes

WIESBADEN, Germany —

WIESBADEN, Germany - Approximately 300 U.S., Allied and partner Soldiers from four countries will take part in a multi-domain exercise in the European and African theaters, Aug. 5-16, 2024. Arcane Thunder 24 is a theater-wide electromagnetic warfare precision synchronization exercise that will take place in Germany and Morocco.

“Arcane Thunder 24 will apply non-lethal effects within the multi-domain concept to ensure Allied and partner nations have a decisive advantage against potential adversaries across all domains and the human, physical and information dimensions of the operating environment,” said Col. Patrick Moffett, 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force commander. “It’s another opportunity to further strengthen cooperation and highlight the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and Morocco through the testing and synchronization of capabilities.”

The 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force will lead Arcane Thunder 24, and conduct training in a joint, combined environment focusing on the employment and synchronization of non-lethal effects against adversaries in all domains (land, sea, air, cyber, space) to enable joint forces freedom of action in the U.S. European Command theater of operations.

Approximately 200 U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force and Multi-Domain Effects Battalion will participate with approximately 100 Allied and partner Soldiers from the United Kingdom, Germany and Morocco. Exercises like Arcane Thunder are conducted to build strong and strategic relationships while improving our ability to ensure that partner forces are equipped with the capability to synchronize and employ non-lethal effects across all domains against adversaries.

“This year we continue to enhance our interoperability with Allied and partner forces under command structures arrayed across more than 3,000 kilometers from Germany to the North Atlantic Ocean and into Morocco,” said Moffett.

This will be the second iteration of Arcane Thunder 24 and will be executed in Morocco for the first time, further solidifying commitments made to the nation’s security. A series of complex missions and challenges will test participating nations’ planning and incorporate industry technology to evaluate the U.S. Army’s modernization efforts. Promoting understanding and collaboration between Allied and partner nations, Arcane Thunder 24 contributes significantly to regional stability and security by improving the ability of partner forces to operate effectively in times of crisis or conflict.  

https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/ArticleViewPressRelease/Article/3852409/press-release-exercise-arcane-thunder-24-occurring-in-germany-and-morocco/

https://breakingdefense.com/2024/08/drones-jammers-and-big-balloons-in-morocco-armys-multi-domain-task-force-tests-ew-tech/

Citation :

Drones, jammers and big balloons: In Morocco, Army’s Multi-Domain Task Force tests EW tech
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
7 - 9 minutes

MDTF Soldiers maintain equipment in joint environment

U.S. Army Spc. Delilah Crenshaw, a strategic communications specialist assigned to 2nd Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force, ensures cables are securely connected to a GATR inflatable satellite antenna at an Arcane Thunder 23 training site in northwest Poland, Aug. 30, 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ashley M. Morris)

WASHINGTON — In the desert outside of Agadir, American and Moroccan troops are putting new electronic warfare technology and tactics to the test. It’s a small but vital piece of a long-overdue effort to restore and update capabilities disbanded after the Cold War.

With a combination of high-tech, high-altitude balloons, and three very different types of drones, a battalion of the US Army’s 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force is practicing how to hunt for enemy radars and radio transmitters, triangulate their precise locations, and then shut them down. That might mean temporarily, using the battalion’s own drone-borne jammers, or permanently, using lethal drones — or by passing the coordinates to the MDTF’s in-house artillery, whose first long-range missile launchers are just entering service.

That’s the “core function” of the blandly named Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, said the unit’s commander, Lt. Col. Aaron Ritzema: “We ‘find and fix’ any potential target that we then pass on for further effects,” he told the NDIA Emerging Technologies conference via a live video feed from Morocco.

In essence, he said, it’s the same job that scouts and light cavalry have done for army commanders since ancient times — but with radically updated tools. Instead of only searching for the foe on land, he said, the battalion performs “multi-domain reconnaissance” that combines everything from aerial drones to cybersecurity software to satellite feeds.

The ongoing binational exercise, Arcane Thunder, is just the second such wargame for the three-year-old 2nd MDTF. Arcane Thunder 24 is already much more ambitious than the unit’s inaugural field exercise last year, which was held in Central Europe. In 2023, the Germany-based battalion could drive from its Wiesbaden barracks to exercise sites in Poland, Ritzema recounted, whereas getting to Morocco required coordinating the movement of people, equipment, and supplies by sea and air. Last time, Polish participation in the exercise was very limited, but this year, he said, “the Moroccans are fully integrated.”

“It’s a major opportunity to strengthen cooperation,” said Major Mouad Zerrik, a Moroccan signal officer with 20 years’ experience in the Royal Armed Forces. The Moroccans’ involvement began with early planning and concepts of operation, moved to classroom training in electronic and cyber warfare, and now has them in the field alongside Americans working with drones and portable EW equipment.

Because the entire exercise is limited to unclassified information — the scenario being simulated was actually developed for an earlier Moroccan wargame — the two countries are even able to share data nigh-instantly on a common network, Ritzema said. Specifically, they’re using the publicly available WinTAK software, a civilian Windows version of the famed Android Tactical Assault Kit. (Scaling up such near-instantaneous sharing of battlefield information to allies worldwide is one key piece — the “combined” — in the Pentagon’s broader Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.)

Such real-time coordination is important because the technology and tactics involved have also grown much more complex since the previous Arcane Thunder in Poland. In 2023, the battalion deployed three “tethered aerostats” — basically, blimps moored to a fixed site on the ground, like 21st century versions of a Civil War observation balloon — whose long-range, wide-area scans for suspect signals then cued follow-up flights by drones to narrow down the target coordinates.

This time, the battalion is using the aerostats again, Ritzema said, plus a small zoo of different drones, and even a pair of Triton unmanned surface vessels on loan from the Navy’s nine-month-old Task Force 66.

Ritzema said the Morocco exercise will involve two types of drones optimized for long surveillance flights. The Kraus Hamadi Aerospace K-1000 is a 40-pound mini-plane that can stay aloft for days on solar power [PDF]. Complementing it is the Shield AI V-BAT, which weighs more (125 lbs) and has a shorter flight time (about 10 hours) but has the advantage of taking off and landing vertically like a helicopter, without needing a runway or catapult launcher.

There are also two products of the Army’s Launched Effects initiative that Ritzema called “Spirit” and “Disruptor.” Not many details about those systems are available, but a test in March of the “medium range” variant of Launched Effects used the ALTIUS 700, a roughly 65-lb drone with a two-hour fight time that can carry sensors, jammers, or an explosive warhead.

Those drones need to be able to fly a long time and a long way. For this exercise, the battalion headquarters is set up in Agadir, but drone launch-and-recovery teams are 30-plus miles away, and the simulated targets even farther. The battalion’s doctrine calls for it to detect targets over 300 miles (500 kilometers) away. At a minimum, two balloons are airborne at any given time, providing a binocular “persistent stare” that can triangulate the source of any transmission, but at peak there could be eight different assets in the air.

RELATED: Army ‘on the cusp of greatness’ with its critical EW programs

As troops experiment in the desert, however, the Army is still awaiting a few relevant tools like long-range, high-powered jammers. The service’s long-awaited drone-borne jamming system, Multi-Function Electronic Warfare (MFEW) Air won’t enter service until 2026, with an initial fielding of just four pods. On the ground, where Russia currently deployed a varied arsenal of truck-borne high-powered jammers, the US Army has accelerated fielding of low-power backpack systems but the long-range TLS-EAB won’t enter service until mid-2026. (Both MFEW-Air and TLS, short for Terrestrial Layer System, are Lockheed Martin products).

“The Army doesn’t have a lot of programs of record aligned to the capabilities that we need for [our mission],” Col. Ritzema acknowledged, without naming any specific systems. Much of the equipment the battalion is using is not from formal large-scale procurements but prototypes and experiments on offer from industry partners, funneled through the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command. It’s essential for the battalion, he said, to “see, test, get our hands on equipment, and then go back to the Army” with its recommendations.

“We’re validating the network architecture, we’re maturing our COP [Common Operating Picture] tools,” he said. “[We] provide feedback on how these different technologies and capabilities work and ultimately go back to the big Army to inform operational needs statements and programs of record.”

Citation :

Maj. Gen. Andrew Gainey, commanding general of the Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and Command Sgt. Maj. Reese Teakell, command sergeant major of (SETAF-AF) receive a brief from members of Multi-Domain Effects Battalion (MDEB), on August, 12, 2024, at Agadir, Morocco. The MDEB participated in Arcane Thunder 24 alongside the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces in an effort to improve collective security in the region. Approximately 300 service members from the U.S., Morocco, the United Kingdom and Germany, are taking part in Exercise Arcane Thunder 24, August 5-16 in Germany and Morocco. The exercise will build on Morocco and U.S. strong and strategic relationship to ensure that partner forces are equipped with the capability to synchronize and employ non-lethal effects across all domains against adversaries.

Citation :

Arcane Thunder 24 Builds Partnerships Cross Continents and Domains
4 - 5 minutes

AGADIR, Morocco – Over the last two weeks approximately 300 U.S., Allied, and partner Soldiers from four different countries participated in Arcane Thunder 24, a multi-domain warfare exercise spanning the European and African theaters. The exercise synchronized non-lethal effects and connected two strategic locations by integrating new technologies into various warfare domains. This strategic ability gives a decisive edge over potential adversaries in the region.

Col. Patrick Moffett, 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force (2nd MDTF), stated “Arcane Thunder 24 will apply non-lethal effects within the multi-domain concept to ensure allied and partner nations have a decisive advantage against potential adversaries across all domains and the human, physical and information dimensions of the operating environment.”

Led by the U.S. Army’s 2nd MDTF, Arcane Thunder 24 stands out as a significant step in defining the capabilities of joint and coalition forces between the European and African theaters. The exercise demonstrated theater-wide synchronization as it unfolded in Germany and Morocco. Morocco hosted the exercise for the first time. The efforts to improve security demonstrate the military cooperation between the United States and Morocco. This iteration of Arcane Thunder showcased the ability of both nations working towards integrating force projection and the modernization of military capabilities.

“Arcane Thunder 24 demonstrated the ability to fully integrate the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces as a combined staff by utilizing cutting edge technology,” Lt. Col. Aaron Ritzema, commander of the 2nd Multi-Domain Effects Battalion (MDEB). “The emphasis of Arcane Thunder and synchronizing non-lethal effects advances our partnership in multi-domain operations.”

Arcane Thunder 24 provided the forum for the 2nd MDEB to build on specific capabilities alongside partners in the European and African regions. Specifically, synchronization of effects in the electromagnetic spectrum and non-kinetic domains.

“During the exercise we demonstrated long duration unmanned aerial systems, launched effects, high altitude platforms, unmanned underwater vehicles, and electromagnetic warfare sensors,” said Capt. Amy Karlzen, innovation officer for the 2nd MDEB. “Exercises like Arcane Thunder 24 synchronize our capabilities between allies and partners, and strengthen interoperability, not only across theaters, but across domains.”

2nd MDEB served as the headquarters element for allied and partnered soldiers from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Morocco. Together, they worked in a joint, combined environment to test and synchronize their capabilities in land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains. Exercises like Arcane Thunder 24 are crucial for enhancing interoperability among NATO and partner forces to ensure preparation for future conflict.

A key focus of Arcane Thunder 24 is the testing and evaluation of industry technology. Testing of future equipment is injected into the exercise to assess the U.S. Army’s ongoing modernization efforts. This included a series of complex missions designed to challenge the participating forces’ ability to plan and execute operations that leverage advanced and potential technology. By testing new capabilities, the exercise aims to keep the U.S. and its partners ahead of competitors and adversaries with innovation and technology.

Arcane Thunder 24 boasted the ability to manage multiple command posts spread across more than 3,000 kilometers from Germany to the North Atlantic Ocean and into Morocco. This wide-ranging operation demonstrates the strategic importance of Arcane Thunder 24 in preparing forces to operate effectively in dispersed and dynamic environments. “Arcane Thunder demonstrated our ability to employ new technologies and integrate with a partner nation, all while testing our abilities to deploy the battalion in support of multi-domain operations through the AFRICOM and EUCOM areas of responsibility” said Ritzema.

U.S Air Force Senior Airman Will Alcutti, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, marshals a Royal Moroccan Air Force C-130H Hercules during exercise Arcane Thunder 24 at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 16, 2024. Arcane Thunder provided the opportunity to further strengthen cooperation and highlight the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and Morocco highlighting our allied capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dylan Myers)

Call Sign RMAF201

During #ArcaneThunder 24, @SETAF_Africa's CG, MG. Andrew Gainey, met w/ Col. Maj. Mohsine Bensdira, w/ the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces, & other leaders in Morocco

300 service members from the & are taking part in Exercise Arcane Thunder 24#MakingaDifference pic.twitter.com/QU0uZhp0ZT

— U.S. Army Europe and Africa (@USArmyEURAF) August 15, 2024

#ArcaneThunder 24 took place from Aug. 6 -15, at Agadir, Morocco.

This exercise demonstrated the strength of Morocco and U.S. partnerships in synchronizing non-lethal effects across all domains -Land, Sea, Air, Space, and Cyber.

️ by Staff Sgt. Rene Rosas #MakingaDifference pic.twitter.com/sJWe8phESQ

— U.S. Army Europe and Africa (@USArmyEURAF) August 22, 2024