The Virginia Army National Guard’s 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team has become the first National Guard brigade to complete the Army’s transition to a Mobile Brigade Combat Team equipped with new unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), electronic warfare capabilities, and modern command-and-control technologies, brigade leaders said Friday.
The 18-month modernization effort transformed the former Infantry Brigade Combat Team into one of the Army’s first Mobile Brigade Combat Teams under the service’s Transformation in Contact 2.0 initiative, which is designed to field emerging technologies more rapidly and prepare formations for large-scale combat operations.
“We were the first of two National Guard brigades to do this,” Col. Arthur Moore, commander of the 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team, told reporters during a media roundtable on July 24.
Moore said the National Guard plans to convert 25 of its 27 ground combat brigades into Mobile Brigade Combat Teams, representing roughly half of the Army’s maneuver force.
By the end of the transition, the brigade will have completed 35 equipment fieldings, including infantry squad vehicles, UAS, counter-UAS capabilities, electronic warfare systems, satellite communications equipment, and upgraded command-and-control technologies.
Throughout the transition, soldiers trained to employ the brigade’s new capabilities together for the first time. Exercises included using electronic sensors and aerial reconnaissance to locate simulated enemy positions while cyber specialists accessed simulated adversary networks and forced opposing forces onto unsecured communications that were easier to intercept.
The restructuring also created dedicated electronic warfare and satellite communications units capable of operating alongside frontline forces.
The modernization also established a multifunctional reconnaissance company that combines unmanned aircraft operators, electronic warfare specialists, cyber personnel, and infantry scouts into a single formation supporting brigade operations.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Cochran, commander of the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, said the company consists of four platoons: an infantry scout platoon, an effects platoon equipped with small UAS and specialized equipment, an electronic warfare platoon, and a UAS platoon operating short-, medium-, and long-range aircraft.
“We task-organize them for the mission,” Cochran said. “Their primary purpose is to answer battlefield requirements for the brigade commander.”
Moore acknowledged that restructuring the brigade required significant organizational changes, including activating new units, deactivating others, and reassigning soldiers. However, he said the transition prioritized retaining personnel and creating new opportunities within the force.
The brigade recently completed its final evaluation at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Johnson, La., which Moore said confirmed the unit is prepared for both federal and state missions.
Looking ahead, Moore said the brigade will continue refining lessons learned during drill weekends, annual training, and live-fire exercises while receiving additional equipment, including long-range reconnaissance drones and enhanced command-and-control systems. The brigade also plans to conduct future training with international partners in Virginia and Kentucky.
Ultimately, Moore said the modernization effort is intended to improve battlefield awareness and accelerate targeting by extending digital capabilities to lower-echelon formations and improving information sharing across brigade and division headquarters.
“It’s all about improving situational awareness, improving and lowering the speed of the kill chain, being able to identify the enemy and get effects on target as quickly as possible,” Moore said.