MOBILE PROTECTED FIREPOWER (MPF) WHITE PAPER

1. Purpose. To inform stakeholders of the capabilities needed for Mobile Protected

Firepower.
2. Background. The Army, in conjunction with our Joint partners, provides the
Combatant Commander with multiple options to present the enemy with multiple
dilemmas in multiple domains. In accordance with the Army Operating Concept (AOC),
future forces operating as part of joint teams must respond globally, conducting
expeditionary maneuver through rapid deployment and transition to operations. These
forces help ensure access through joint forcible entry operations with combined arms
units that possess the mobility, firepower, and protection to defeat the enemy and
establish control of land, resources, and populations. The AOC directs that the Army
have the required capability to project forces, conduct forcible and early entry, and
transition rapidly to offensive operations to ensure success and seize the initiative.
The IBCTs ability to rapidly deploy and operate in close and complex terrain are the
distinguishing characteristics that separate it from other brigade combat teams. Joint
Force Commanders require scalable, mobile and lethal IBCTs to defeat potential
adversaries across the full range of military operations to include forcible entry. Joint
Force Commanders must be able to employ IBCTs with strategic deployability to get to
the fight quickly, with Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) to provide overwhelming direct
fires that allow dismounted forces to break through enemy defensive positions and
continue movement to turn enemy forces out of their positions, and exploit the initiative.
IBCTs lack a protected, long range, precision direct fire capability to defeat enemy
prepared positions, bunkers, and armor threats to ensure freedom of movement and
action during offensive operations or defeat attacking enemy during defensive
operations. Further, IBCTs have no organic capability to conduct combined arms
operations and maneuver. Without it, the IBCT cannot compel an enemy, making it an
infeasible option with its current structure for the Unified Land Commander in support of
joint combined arms operations. Enemy overmatch prohibits our IBCT formations from
conducting operations of sufficient scale and ample duration to achieve strategic
objectives.
The solution to this issue are IBCTs with lethality, mobility, and protection overmatch,
capable of conducting Expeditionary Maneuver and Joint Combined Arms
Operations/Maneuver in support of Unified Land Operations. IBCT Combined Arms
Operations require the synchronized and simultaneous application of small arms,
medium and large caliber weapons, anti-tank weapons and the ability to conduct tactical
assault.
In order for the IBCT to effectively execute combined arms maneuver in current
operations, it must task organize with M1 Abrams or Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Though
air-land capable, IBCTs are at risk of not receiving these assets in time to influence the
decisive point of the operation. MPF, a mobile protected system that possesses scalable
precision firepower and operates with reduced logistical demand, is critical to the IBCT

and future force ability to project power, conduct joint combined arms maneuver and
secure wide areas.
MPF provides stabilized, direct fire overmatch to dismounted Infantry in restricted terrain
including areas with immature infrastructure and bridges that cannot support current
armored vehicles.

3. Operational Concept. IBCTs will employ MPF across the range of military
operations in direct support of dismounted Infantry squads. MPF will operate in
conjunction with the Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (LRV) and Ground Mobility Vehicle
(GMV), a system of systems to significantly improve the lethality, mobility,
reconnaissance and security of the IBCT when executing decisive action tasks,
including forced and early entry operations in high anti-access area denial environments
and the IBCTs rapid transition to offensive operations to ensure success and seize the
initiative.
IBCTs will employ GMVs to increase the tactical mobility of the light infantry squads by
an order of magnitude during early entry operations. Infantry squads move rapidly in
GMV, but lack protection and precision lethality; LRV-mounted scout sections gain and
maintain contact with the enemy using accurate medium caliber lethality providing
operational protection by identification of the enemy, which allows freedom of movement
and action for the IBCTs GMV-mounted Infantry squads during offensive movement.
MPF provides dismounted infantry squads long range, precision direct fire capability to
defeat enemy prepared positions, bunkers and armor threats in order to ensure freedom
of movement and action during offensive operations or defeat attacking enemy during
defensive operations. These systems, operating as a mobile combined arms team,
provide the IBCT the ability to operate dispersed to avoid evade enemy attacks, deceive
the enemy, and achieve surprise, and are able to concentrate rapidly to isolate the
enemy, attack critical enemy assets, and seize upon fleeting opportunities.
4. MPF Required Capabilities.
a. Mobility. MPF must have mobility capability equal or greater than other vehicles
within the IBCT. It will possess the tactical mobility required to achieve a position of
advantage to support Infantry squads with long range precision fires. MPF must operate
within a highly fluid IBCT environment in restrictive terrain/often limited infrastructure
common to IBCT dismounted operations. It must traverse complex terrain in support of
dismounted Infantry squads in the assault, and execute small radius turns normally
required in urban, forest, jungle and mountainous terrain. The MPF must maintain
speed and ford depths equal to the capabilities of existing IBCT vehicles.
b. Protection. MPF must protect the crew from small arms, heavy machine gun, and
overhead artillery and select chemical energy (CE) and kinetic energy (KE) fires and
mines, and can be kitted with additional protection to address selected threats that are
delineated in a classified annex.

c. Lethality. MPF provides precision, all inclement weather, day/night direct fires
against prepared enemy positions, bunkers, technical vehicles, and heavy armored
vehicles, while stationary or on the move.
Target Set. includes individuals or teams armed with hand-held anti-armor
weapons (Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), man portable ATGMs); fortifications and
fortified positions such as bunkers, trenches, and positions in urban areas from ground
level to high rise buildings; Technical vehicles (commercial vehicles, usually light to
heavy trucks) mounting heavy machine guns (e.g. 12.7mm, 14.5mm) to cannon (e.g.
23mm, 30mm); rotary wing aircraft and unmanned aerial systems (UAS); support
vehicles (engineer, logistics);and heavy armored combat vehicles.
5. Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Strategy. Defining capabilities for MPF requires a
combination of M&S and technical analysis. Experimentation at the Maneuver Battle
Lab will examine lethality, survivability, and force structure. ARDEC and TARDEC
analysis will assist in quantifying the lethality, mobility, survivability, and transportability
capabilities that the Non-Developmental Item (NDI) materiel solutions offer. The
TRADOC Analysis Center White Sands Missile Range (TRAC WSMR) Analysis of
Alternatives (AoA) will support identification of the most promising end-state materiel
solution, and assist in crafting a cost-effective and balanced acquisition strategy.

LTC Ted Johnson/ATZK-CI/706-626-2897

Approved by: COL Willie Nuckols