A senior American military commander warns: The next war may reach American soil

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General Christopher Lanev, Deputy Chief of Staff of the US Army and Acting Chief of Staff, warned that the next war may pose direct threats to US territory, in light of the development of drone capabilities, cyber attacks, and long-range weapons, which may disrupt the deployment and supply of military forces before they reach foreign battlefields.

In statements to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, LaNeve said that confronting an opponent who possesses advanced military capabilities will make transferring American military power to theaters of operations more difficult, adding: “If we are facing a major strategic threat, the ability to project military power and deliver it to theaters of operations will be a subject of competition.”

He explained that the US Army is reconsidering assumptions that prevailed during the decades of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, when the forces relied on relatively safe bases and stable supply and communications lines within the United States.

These fears emerge in light of the possibility of a military confrontation with China, as targeting military bases and transportation and communications networks could delay the mobilization of American forces and disrupt their arrival to the field of operations.

According to the report, the latest US Department of Defense report on Chinese military capabilities warns of the presence of Chinese cyber capabilities within US critical infrastructure networks, which could be used to disrupt military movements and mobilization operations during conflicts. The warnings come with increasing interest in protecting military installations within the United States, after incidents of monitoring drones over military sites, including Joint Base Langley-Eustis in the state of Virginia and the Picatinny Arsenal in the state of New Jersey, were recorded, without attributing these incidents publicly to China.

The statements coincided with the US Army’s introduction of a new operational framework entitled “How the Army Fights,” which focuses on developing training, command and control, and enhancing the units’ ability to continue fighting even when bases, supply lines, and communications networks are exposed to attack.

Lanev said the Army is working to develop capabilities that allow units to continue maneuvering and carrying out missions when communications are lost, and then restore communication when that becomes possible.

He also pointed to the role of the 401st Interagency Task Force, which collaborates with federal and local law enforcement to strengthen anti-drone defenses around military bases and critical infrastructure.

For his part, Acting US Army Secretary Adam Thiel said that operations on the southern border allow testing new technologies to confront drones in realistic conditions, giving soldiers experience that can be employed in future conflicts.

Military officials also announced the inclusion of biological incidents in periodic combat training, in preparation for the possibility of disease outbreaks or deliberate biological attacks that might disrupt military operations.

In a related context, US Air Force Secretary Troy Mink warned that the rapid development of surveillance technologies will make concealing the locations of military forces more difficult, as the capabilities of China and other adversaries expand to track and target targets. Mink said that developments may reach a level during the next five years, and perhaps before that, that allows adversaries to form a picture of the forces’ locations based on their footprint and speed of movement.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Defense is working to enhance the forces' ability to survive on battlefields, including the use of autonomous systems in dangerous environments. For his part, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth criticized what he described as the Department of Defense’s delay in keeping pace with technological developments during the Joe Biden administration, referring to the areas of hypersonic weapons, space, space weaponization, and drones.

Despite the increasing reliance on technology, Lanev stressed that the soldier remains the essential element of military power, stressing the need for forces to maintain the combat skills necessary to operate when digital systems malfunction or communications are interrupted.