Future Operational Environment: Forging the Future in an Uncertain World 2035-2050

This document describes the U.S. Army's Future Operational Environment (FOE). It is not meant to predict what will be, but rather explores what could be. It includes several plausible alternative views of the future out to 2050, and therefore is foundational to the development of concepts beyond the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) timeframe. It attempts to explore and focus operational concepts in order to develop capabilities that will deter potential adversaries and, if necessary, fight and win the Nations wars. It employs the first two steps of the Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) process defining and describing the effects of the environment and is intended as a basis for Army deliberation and decision-making about concepts, capabilities, force design, and S and T investments. Judgments expressed in the document are not definitive there are no 'right answers about a dynamic, uncertain, and rapidly-changing world. Neither is the document a detailed description of future adversaries. Rather, it reviews two key drivers and explores their potential influence on the FOE through the use of descriptive alternative futures.