Army Leaders Highlight Key Multidomain Operations Elements at LANDEURO Symposium

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At the recent LANDEURO Symposium in Wiesbaden, Germany, senior U.S. Army leaders and allied defense experts outlined the critical role of updated doctrine, modern technology, and resilient defense industries in enabling effective multidomain operations across Europe. The discussion reflected growing urgency around military readiness and integration among NATO partners.

The July 17 event featured leaders from across the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. Army, emphasizing that success in future conflict depends on seamless coordination across air, land, maritime, space, and cyber domains. Brigadier General Steven Carpenter, commander of the 56th Theater Multi-Domain Command, noted that the strength of the U.S. military, combined with a unified NATO alliance, forms a formidable deterrent that adversaries cannot ignore.

Harald Manheim, head of defense digital and cyber at Airbus Defense and Space, called for stronger collaboration between governments and the defense industrial base. He stressed that trust and long-standing relationships are key to maintaining effective partnerships, and he urged skilled professionals, particularly those with expertise in artificial intelligence and engineering, to support modernization across allied militaries.

Doctrine was another central focus. Richard Creed Jr., director of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate at the U.S. Army’s Mission Command Center of Excellence, explained that the Army is actively revising its warfighting doctrine to reflect lessons learned from the conflict in Ukraine. The changes are designed to ensure NATO forces can integrate capabilities such as space operations, cyber warfare, and advanced air defense into joint combat strategies.

Manheim also emphasized the need to align new software-driven platforms with legacy systems across NATO, particularly in areas such as communications, ammunition production, and coordinated logistics. Failure to adapt, he warned, could leave vulnerabilities in the alliance’s deterrence posture.

Brigadier General Carpenter underscored the importance of confronting anti-access and area-denial threats across all domains. He pointed to multinational training exercises, including Dynamic Front, which involve over a dozen NATO nations working together to simulate real-time data sharing and fire coordination.

To support this evolving strategy, the Army is standing up the 56th Multi-Domain Command, an initiative that merges the 56th Artillery Command with the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force. This transformation is expected to enhance command-and-control capabilities, improve targeting speed, and strengthen interoperability across allied forces.

Ultimately, the symposium highlighted that doctrine, technology, and industrial coordination must move in lockstep if NATO is to maintain its strategic edge in a rapidly changing global security environment.