Maneuver warfare is evolving at an unprecedented pace on the European continent, driven by rapid technological advancements emerging in real time during the war in Ukraine. History shows that the European Theater has long been—and will continue to be—an ideal environment for fostering innovation in combat operations.

During the nuclear-focused Cold War era, Europe served as the primary testing ground for military advancements. This period saw the development of new unit structures such as the pentomic division, named for its five battle groups, companies, platoons and supporting units and its atomic capability, and the testing of groundbreaking equipment like the M28 Davy Crockett Weapon System—a recoilless smoothbore gun designed for the squad level, capable of firing the M388 nuclear warhead.

These innovations in nuclear weaponry were shaped by the strategic and operational environment of their time. Today, the U.S. Army continues in this tradition, focusing on unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and human-machine integration—a direct result of lessons learned from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Army’s current emphasis on the European Theater to accelerate its transforming in contact modernization initiative underscores the region’s ongoing and future significance. By leveraging this strategically vital theater, the Army, alongside NATO allies and partners, aims to refine technological advancements and validate new concepts for organizational structure. Furthermore, units deployed or assigned to Europe will increase their lethality and readiness by accelerating modernization in an overseas environment.

Real-World Environment

Unlike traditional modernization programs that take years to develop and field new capabilities, transforming in contact is designed to accelerate innovation from the ground up. By placing emerging technology directly into the hands of soldiers for experimentation, transforming in contact enables rapid development and testing. V Corps, the Army’s forward-deployed corps in Europe, oversees these efforts, leveraging a real-world operational environment to incubate new technology and refine doctrinal concepts.

Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, V Corps commanding general, said Europe’s unique terrain and environmental conditions provide an opportunity for the U.S. Army and technology vendors to test new equipment in the same theater as an ongoing land forces conflict.

“What we’ve seen with [transforming in contact] is that you have [the] defense industry out with the training unit during an exercise,” Costanza said in February. “If a soldier has a problem with a piece of equipment, for us in Europe it could be the well-below-freezing temperatures, they can work with a contractor who can either fix it immediately or take notes on how they can improve their product.”

V Corps’ engagement with transforming in contact began in 2024 with its oversight of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. The brigade was part of the initial iteration of transforming in contact, the first phase of the Army’s broader transformation strategy. This initial phase introduced several key technologies, including the Infantry Squad Vehicle, the Integrated Tactical Network, Proliferated Low Earth Orbit satellites, three tiers of UASs and autonomous vehicles designed to reduce the load carried by soldiers, such as the Silent Tactical Energy Enhanced Dismount and the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport.

Rapid Integration

Following the brigade’s deployment to Europe, these new capabilities were rapidly integrated into operations and validated through large-scale exercises with NATO allies. V Corps’ involvement in this first round of innovations was a direct result of the Army’s practice of augmenting its permanently stationed combat power in Europe—composed of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade and 41st Field Artillery Brigade—with rotationally allocated forces from stateside units.

Rotational deployments to Europe offer units a dedicated nine-month window to implement transforming in contact, from initial fielding to full integration. Exercises like the Combined Resolve series offer realistic validation and immediate feedback, helping inform and refine transforming in contact concepts for the broader force. During Exercise Combined Resolve early this year, 10th Mountain Division soldiers integrated the full suite of transforming in contact technologies while testing a change in organizational structure from an infantry brigade combat team to a light brigade combat team. The robust force-on-force exercise marked the conclusion of the unit’s rotation and the Army’s transition from transforming in contact 1.0 to transforming in contact 2.0.

Col. Joshua Glonek, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, said implementing transforming in contact requires soldiers and organizations to rethink the way they fight. “The battlefield is rapidly changing. The way we fight, the tools we use, and how we think in combat have all evolved,” Glonek said in January. “As we plan for how we conduct operations as a brigade, as a [transforming in contact] unit, that requires us to think differently [about] how we’re going to fight and how we’re going to integrate many of these new technologies into our formation.”

Allied Amplification

The innovation efforts of both permanently assigned and rotational units are amplified in the European Theater, where multinational large-scale training exercises play a key role in building shared capability. Regular opportunities to train alongside NATO allies and partners provide an optimal environment for transforming in contact capabilities to flourish—especially those that enhance command and control and communication across multinational forces.

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment is spearheading the development and testing of Mission Partner Kits in the European Theater to further enhance command and control capabilities at the maneuver level. The kits are interoperable systems that provide secure translation of voice, video and data communication between U.S. and partner forces, ensuring that multinational coordination strengthens, rather than inhibits, the ability of different nations to conduct large-scale maneuver operations in unison.

The extent of allied innovation goes beyond system integration; it also shapes how U.S. and NATO maneuver formations will organize, equip and train for future conflicts. A key aspect of this preparation is addressing emerging battlefield threats, one of the most pressing being the challenge posed by UASs.

In response, V Corps is prioritizing innovation with counter-UAS solutions through Project Flytrap in collaboration with the U.K. This initiative will see 2nd Cavalry Regiment and U.K. forces conduct three progressive exercises this summer focused on innovation and tactics development.

Each phase will increase in complexity, testing the ability to detect, track and engage UAS threats. Nine developmental counter-UAS technologies will be evaluated, ranging from passive detection of small UASs to various electronic and kinetic means of neutralization.

Transforming in contact has demonstrated that bottom-up innovation and ingenuity are critical. As an extension of transforming in contact, 2nd Cavalry Regiment established a robust UAS innovation program that empowers soldiers at the lowest levels to conceptualize, design and 3D-print improved UAS components. These experimental parts are immediately tested in field environments, creating a rapid cycle of real-world validation.

For Costanza, the regiment’s efforts are another example of V Corps being uniquely positioned in Europe to learn from a modern force-on-force conflict. “In addition to transforming in contact, the units that are here in Europe are learning from Ukraine, and they are just innovating on their own,” he said. “It’s almost a separate effort in a lot of ways, and 2nd Cavalry Regiment is an example of that with 3D-printed drones and individual sensors.”

The regiment’s development process spans from the factory to the front lines with a fully in-house development chain that has fostered agile and adaptable innovation. The success of the Europe-based Stryker brigade’s program reflects a broader shift.

Innovation is no longer confined to so-called “Big Army” initiatives. Instead, unit leaders are encouraging soldiers to identify problems and develop solutions at their level, as evidenced by the emergence of numerous innovation labs to foster grassroots ideas. By trusting soldiers on the ground to innovate through operational challenges, the Army and its partner forces intend to keep pace with the rapidly evolving nature of modern warfare.

Credible Deterrent

Incorporating rotational forces into the European Theater serves as a credible deterrent while fostering opportunities for unit-driven innovation in support of the Army’s servicewide transformation, no matter the type of formation. Throughout this year, V Corps will oversee transforming in contact efforts of armored, Stryker, light and mobile brigade combat teams in Europe.

Soldiers with the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, will be part of the first transforming in contact armored brigade to test new electronic warfare technology and protection techniques during their rotational deployment in support of V Corps. Building off lessons learned from a 2024 rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, the Army’s first transforming in contact brigade, the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), also will test its equipment and mobile force structure changes in Europe during Combined Resolve in October.

Beyond innovation, the Army’s transition to large-scale combat operations means it is essential to continue to integrate with allies, train in diverse operational environments and expose soldiers to tactical challenges that cannot be replicated in the United States. Soldiers in Europe are proving that transformation is not a distant goal—it is happening now in real-world training and operational environments, strengthening the Army for the challenges of tomorrow.

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Capt. Thomas McCarty is a public affairs officer with 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, supporting V Corps as part of a rotational force in Europe. Previously, he was assigned to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. He deployed to Afghanistan.