ADP-3-19 FIRES Warfighting Function Download
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Chapter 1 1-4 ADP 3-19 31 July 2019 The Army operates within all domains: land, air, maritime, space, and cyberspace (including the electromagnetic spectrum) as well as in the information environment. Throughout this publication, where the domains are referenced, the information environment must also be considered, as commanders and forces may create effects within the information environment independent of or in conjunction with effects in any domain. Commanders use fires to create effects in support of Army and joint operations. Cross-domain fires are fires executed in one domain to create effects in a different domain. Cross-domain fires provide commanders with the flexibility to find the best system to create the required effect and to build redundancy into their plan. Cross-domain fires also present a more complex problem to the adversary or enemy than fires within a single domain. Multi-domain fires are fires that converge effects from two or more domains against a target. Multi-domain fires may produce synergistic effects that are greater than the sum of the individual effects that would have been created separately. Surface-based fires converged with other effects across domains creates multiple dilemmas, taxing the enemy’s ability to effectively respond. For example, a commander may employ offensive cyberspace operations to attack an enemy air defense network while surface-to-surface fires destroy enemy air defense radars and air-to-surface fires destroy the air defense command and control nodes. The converged effects provide reduced risk to allied operational aircraft. Commanders and staff must anticipate and account for collateral effects of fires within one domain crossing into other domains. These cross-domain collateral effects may present unintended consequences and negate intended effects. Commanders, or their representatives, will conduct all operations in compliance with Law of War (known as LOW) principles of military necessity, humanity (unnecessary suffering), distinction, proportionality, and honor and with due regard for the protection of human life, and also follow this guidance when authorizing strikes, or deciding whether to elevate a targeting decision. The land domain is the area of the Earth's surface ending at the high water mark and overlapping with the maritime domain in the landward segment of the littorals (JP 3-31). The joint force land component commander (JFLCC) is the supported commander within the land area of operations (AO) designated by the joint force commander (JFC). Within the designated AO, the JFLCC has the authority to designate target priority, effects, and timing of fires in order to integrate and synchronize maneuver, fires, and interdiction. Army commanders operating from the land domain have several options they may use to create effects from the land domain, including rockets, missiles, cannon artillery, and mortars. For more information on the land domain, see JP 3-31. The air domain is the atmosphere, beginning at the Earth's surface, extending to the altitude where its effects upon operations become negligible (JP 3-30). The JFC normally assigns joint force air component commander responsibilities to the component commander having the preponderance of forces and the ability to effectively plan, task, and control joint air operations. In addition, as all component commands will need to utilize the air domain to some extent, the JFC normally designates the joint force air component commander as the airspace control authority to promulgate airspace coordinating measures to deconflict the multiple users on behalf of the JFC. The employment of air capabilities and forces in support of the joint force or supported components requires a degree of air superiority to effectively accomplish operations in the other physical domains. Army commanders may employ rotary-wing assets or fixed-wing assets to create effects from the air domain. Surface-to-surface and surface-to-air fires are integrated with other operations in the air domain and require airspace coordination with other users (see FM 3-52). The Army air-ground system is the Army’s system to synchronize, coordinate, and integrate air-ground operations, joint air support, and airspace (see ATP 3-52.2). For more information on the air domain and joint air operations, see JP 3-30. The maritime domain is the oceans, seas, bays, estuaries, islands, coastal areas, and the airspace above these, including the littorals (JP 3-32). Naval and maritime forces operate on (surface), under (subsurface), or above the sea (air). Fires from the maritime domain support the land scheme of fires with traditional naval surface fires, and joint fires to include cruise missile and anti-ship missiles, as well as protecting global shipping lanes and friendly maritime assets to maintain freedom of maneuver. For more information on the Maritime Domain, see JP 3-32.