A New Horizon For Maneuver Support Experimentation

The Final MSPIX and a Vision For The Future

By Captain Adam R.
Contributing Authors: Robinson, Ms. Sonya Taylor, Mr. Jarret Ellis, Major Davin Harmon

Article published on: January 26, 2026 in the 2026 e-Edition of Protection

Read Time: < 6 mins

Soldiers Test Drive Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System at MSPIX 24. (U.S. Army photo by Gabriella White)

The contents of this article do not represent the official views of, nor are they endorsed by, the U.S. Army, the Department of War (DoW), or the U.S. Government.

This article was edited with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Final review and editing were conducted by authorized DoW personnel to ensure accuracy, clarity, and compliance with DoW policies and guidance.

May 2025 marked the conclusion of an era with the final Maneuver Support Protection Integration Experiment (MSPIX). Hosted by the Maneuver Support Capability Development Integration Directorate (MS CDID) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, this event transitioned from an Army-focused warfighting experiment to the newly implemented Concept-Focused Warfighting Experiments (CFWEs), which are set to begin in fiscal year 2026.

CFWEs are synchronized, integrated, and linked experimentation events across the U.S. Army Futures Command that focus on learning about and refining the critical components outlined in the Army Warfighting Concept.

While representing the culmination of years of valuable insights, this year’s MSPIX served as a pivotal demonstration of a fundamentally new approach to technology experimentation—one that promises to accelerate innovation and better prepare the Army for the challenges of modern warfare.

Autonomous Equipment Decontamination System demonstration at the recent Maneuver Support Protection Integration Experiments (MSPIX) at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in May 2024 and Chemical Biological Operational Analysis event held at Camp Dawson, West Virginia in August 2023. (U.S. Army photo by Gabriella White)

MSPIX 2025: A Final Chapter in Maneuver Support Experimentation

MSPIX 2025, the ninth and final annual MSPIX event, was held May 5-16, 2025. As with all previous MSPIX experiments, Soldier participants operated and evaluated emerging technologies and capabilities—developed by government laboratories and private industry—within a live operational environment. Live experimentation is a crucial component of Army modernization, providing a venue for examining military problems and potential solutions in relevant operational scenarios. Data collected from Soldier surveys, observations, and technology performance were analyzed to build insights and recommendations concerning how each technology addresses protection-based capability gaps, informs requirements development, and meets user needs.

This year’s experiment successfully integrated Soldier touch points with 14 distinct technologies, ranging from advanced bridging solutions to sophisticated chemical detection systems, remote breaching capabilities, and deep terrain-shaping operations. Soldiers from the 36th Engineer Brigade, 20th Engineer Brigade, 555th Engineer Brigade, 89th Military Police Brigade, 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Engineer Company (CEC), 48th Chemical Brigade, and 20th Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, Radiological, Explosive (CBRNE) Command operated the emerging prototype systems within seven vignettes and across four ranges and training areas. All technologies were teleoperated or operated remotely, adhering to the Army robotics initiative and the requirement to keep Soldiers out of harm’s way when possible.

Innovative Approaches to Experimentation

Military police Soldiers operated a capability that performed remote and automated surveillance of breaching operations, facilitating comprehensive analysis while minimizing disruption to operational flow. This included advanced electro-optical/infrared sensors, multiple mobile platforms, and long-range sensing systems to observe technologies at a distance and across different spectrums, reflecting a potential technology-heavy future battlefield.

To further enhance analytical capabilities, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) developed operational simulation tools that allowed engineer mission planners to rehearse missions and digitally simulate the training area during MSPIX. These systems enabled analysts to gather detailed performance data, assess system capabilities, and monitor interactions between technologies without interfering with engineers’ training exercises.

CBRNE Soldiers from reconnaissance platoons, decontamination companies, and CBRNE response teams operated two separate capabilities. The first was a pre-milestone prototype detection system designed to enhance chemical identification in operational environments. During sensitive site exploitation scenarios, Soldiers provided on-the-spot feedback to program managers to refine system development. The second was a semi- autonomous decontamination system intended as a critical area disinfectant for aerial and seaport operations. Moving forward, the intent is for Soldiers to use next-generation decontamination capabilities for continuous operations and restore contaminated areas to enable sustainment and freedom of maneuver.

Transformative Collaboration with the AAL

The true significance of MSPIX 2025 lay in its innovative integration with the Army Applications Lab (AAL). Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Rinaldi, AAL, summarized the event’s impact by stating the following in his executive summary of the event:

From May 12–16 at Fort Leonard Wood as part of MSPIX 2025, four Combat Engineer units (36th Engineer Brigade, 20th Engineer Brigade, 555th Engineer Brigade, and Combat Engineer Company from the 173rd Infantry Brigade) conducted a mission-focused technology demonstration using seven emerging technologies comprised of ground and air autonomous systems, payloads, decoys, and mesh communications. This event marked a shift from traditional technical demos to operational use, with engineers employing these tools in the framework of platoon collective training to execute offensive breaching and defensive terrain-shaping maneuver support tasks. Formations combined technologies in unique ways to accomplish mission sets that government subject matter experts did not anticipate, which expanded learning across the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, and Facilities (DOTMLPF) spectrum. For the first time, engineer formations planned and executed deep terrain shaping using an organic capability nested within a corps-level scheme of maneuver—extending beyond the conventional joint targeting cycle and request to air or naval support. This was a first step in thinking differently about combat engineer formations and capabilities at echelon.¹

The partnership with AAL proved transformative, moving beyond isolated technology demonstrations to a dynamic, operational environment. Engineers did not simply test the technologies; they employed them within the context of realistic platoon-level training, revealing unforeseen applications and accelerating the learning process. This approach allowed for a more holistic evaluation, extending the analysis across the full spectrum of DOTMLPF and providing robust insights and recommendations.

Focus on Future Protection Areas

Beyond the AAL collaboration, MSPIX 2025 also emphasized critical future protection areas, notably the evolving landscape of wet gap crossing. Over the course of the experiment, two private companies presented remotely controlled Bridge Erection Boat (BEB) solutions, demonstrating promising potential for enhancing BEB operations while highlighting key areas for further development. Crucially, both offerings were designed for retrofit compatibility with existing Army assets, supporting a practical pathway toward rapid integration and deployment of future capabilities.

Efficiencies and Lessons Learned

A significant best practice gleaned from executing MSPIX over the years is the impressive efficiencies the team developed to plan, execute, and document substantial learning events on a limited budget. Comparatively, within the U.S. Army Futures Command, the MS CDID consumed a fraction of the experimentation resources to examine an average of 15 technologies annually in live experiments. Tenacious planners, knowledgeable stakeholders, and talented analysts with innovative approaches and creative ideas for utilizing available resources and assets provided the best return on investment.

A Vision for the Future

The insights gained, efficiencies learned, and innovative methodologies pioneered during MSPIX will undoubtedly shape the future of maneuver support experimentation. The shift toward mission-focused, Soldier-driven evaluations, coupled with experimentation proficiency and strategic partnerships (such as the collaboration with AAL) represents a significant step forward in ensuring that the MS CDID is poised to execute and support evolving future experimentation events.

Moving forward, CFWE will focus on learning about and refining the critical components outlined in the Army Warfighting Concept. CFWEs have two primary functions: continued learning and refinement of the respective critical component and risk reduction for the Project Convergence Capstone events. These efforts ensure that emerging concepts are rigorously tested, refined, and ready for integration into future force design and operational planning.

Captain Robinson is the Experimentation Officer for the Maneuver Support Capability Development Integration Directorate, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He holds a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship from Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in business and organizational security management from Webster University.

References

1. Nicholas Rinaldi, email to author, May 20, 2025.