According to a memo earlier this year, the Army Science Board is conducting a study “to assess operational approaches and capabilities (leveraging technology, partnerships, and local populations) which would enable Army units to operate effectively in megacities and dense urban areas in the 2025-2030 time frame.”
Megacities are defined as areas with a population of 10 million or more.
“In megacities and dense urban areas, the sheer population and structural densities will require Army units to modify the way they conduct missions, as kinetic operations have a much greater potential for unintended second- and third-order consequences and collateral damage in these environments… In the case of megacities, there will [be] some system of infrastructure in place, even if degraded, that units can learn to leverage to exert some measure of control over the population.”
