US forces participating in a multinational war game were tested with a barrage of cyber attacks, electronic-warfare jamming, and drones that confirmed major gaps in capabilities that must be remedied, according to a leader of an office dedicated to deploying new technologies quickly.

‘‘We need this type of assessment,’’ Major General Walter Piatt, operations director of the Army’s new Rapid Capabilities Office, said of the exercise last month. It was critical ‘‘to set this up in the dirt of West Texas and the hands of real soldiers,’’ he added.

Army soldiers, Marines, and special operations forces were joined by Australian and Canadian counterparts for the 11 days of mock warfare in Texas and New Mexico. The war game simulated a conflict in the Pacific that was heavy on electronic warfare against an adversary force intent on disrupting communications and navigation. Italian troops overseas linked in via satellite.

The new office is designed to harness promising technologies that can be deployed within five years of identifying a combat need, an initiative aimed at blunting an erosion in capabilities and countering improvements by Russia, China, and other adversaries.

The project may find favor in Donald Trump’s administration. The president-elect has called for rebuilding the Army to 540,000 soldiers from about 475,000 today, reversing plans to reduce the force to 450,000.

Piatt said the lessons learned in the exercise may result in a list of technologies to buy, or rethinking the use of existing technologies.

Bloomberg News