Land Force Leaders Stress Interoperability, Partnerships At Record LANPAC Conference

More than 2,500 military leaders, defense industry representatives and academic partners from 25 nations gathered for the largest-ever Land Forces Pacific Symposium and Exposition (LANPAC) in mid-May 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Association of the United States Army hosted the three-day conference with the theme “Prevailing Through Transformation and Innovation — Adapting, Innovating and Modernizing Land Forces in the Indo-Pacific.”

International land force leaders shared their commitment to regional security and stressed the imperative role of interoperability, trust and partnership. Panel discussions focused on education and training; artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning; command and control; partnering to accelerate transformation; empowering noncommissioned officers; and the cohesive role of reserves and national guard units.

“Being ready means being attuned to the changes happening all around us,” said Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “But the character of war is always changing and, in our case, it’s changing with blinding speed.”

AI-enabled and uncrewed systems are now ubiquitous on the battlefield, said Gen. Ronald Clark, commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, and the U.S. military “drives transformation through Soldier-driven innovation, combined with experimentation and campaigning forward.”

Developing enhanced platforms and assets must be accompanied by interoperability, data sharing and establishing regional sustainment hubs across domains, leaders said. For instance, South Korean shipyards have completed overhauls of two U.S. Navy transport ships, with maintenance of two additional vessels planned.

“Here in the Indo-Pacific, a robust domestic base is a hollow shell if we cannot project that power across the tyranny of distance,” said U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea. “We cannot win if our supply lines are 5,000 miles long. … Sustainment is not the tail. It’s the teeth. It’s the teeth of our deterrence.”

Technology is an enhancement, leaders stressed, but not a substitute for critical thinking. Highly trained personnel remain the backbone of the military.

“Let’s be clear: Artificial intelligence is not designed to replace the commander. This is designed to assist the commander in making better decisions and more timely decisions,” said Dr. Neil Thurgood, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and senior vice president at Anduril Industries, a defense technology company.

“Our human resources are our most lethal weapon,” said Suzanne P. Vares-Llum, a retired U.S. Army major general and director of the Honolulu-based Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

The annual symposium enabled engagement among Allies and Partners.

“We are here at LANPAC because of the importance we place in the strategic land power network” of Australia, Japan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea and the U.S., Maj. Gen. Ash Collingburn, commander of the Australian Army’s 1st Division, told FORUM.

“We see this as a great opportunity to share knowledge and information. And, obviously, bring in industry so we understand each other’s … capability needs,” he said.

Each country has its own strategic environment, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Lt. Gen. Shigeo Kaida said, noting Japan’s strained relations with regimes in China and Russia.

China Coast Guard vessels intruded into the contiguous zone around the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea almost daily in 2025, and Tokyo and Moscow have a territorial dispute over Pacific islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Kurils in Russia.

“Through LANPAC, I have the chance to explain our status and our recognition to other like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific,” Kaida, head of the JGSDF Training Education Research and Development Command, told FORUM. “This is really a wonderful opportunity for us to explain.”

Mihkel Tikk, deputy commander of the Estonian Defence Forces Cyber Command, emphasized the importance of interoperability. Estonia, which has a population of about 1.4 million, borders the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.

“Estonia doesn’t have the resources or the assets that all the AI solutions [provide] today,” Tikk said. “So, basically there has to be a huge interoperability with our partners.”

• This article was published by Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM