Joint Fires: Leverage for Fighting in a Future Megacity

Future Joint Fires requires an efficient, simplified, and adaptive system in order to support maneuver forces operating in the highly complex, dynamic, and densely populated environments of the megacity. The twenty-first century is progressing towards increased urbanization, insecurity, and over population, challenging the historical norms for modern states. Within these trends, over population caused by exponential population growth, massive migration, and urban sprawl continues to increase the sizes of urban centers. While the current definition of a megacity is comprised of inhabitants numbering ten million or more, the actual number is unimportant. What is significant about this urban terrain is the presence of complex networks, density, and sophisticated infrastructure in these cities. This landscape presents unique challenges to fire support planners. The horizontal and vertical faces of modern structures, and the internal and subterranean spaces present unavoidable gaps in current fires systems and platforms ability to employ todays existing direct and indirect capabilities. The confined area in this setting will also force maneuver forces into a dangerously close fight, amplifying the need for future joint fires capabilities to employ weapons with increased accuracy and flexibility.