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Impact Of Operation Desert Storm

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BACKGROUND PAPER

ON

THE IMPACT OF OPERATION DESERT STORM ON AIRPOWER

The United States’ offensive attack on the Iraqi army in January of 1991, known as Operation Desert Storm, was one of the fastest military operations in modern history. This was largely due to the effectiveness of air superiority. Everything from the successful use of a coalition air force to the new precision munition technology, lead to a quick victory in the United States’ first major foreign crisis since the end of the Cold War. More importantly however, it changed how the United States viewed the capabilities of airpower.

One of the most notable characteristics of Operation Desert Storm was the use of a coalition air force. Prior to the war, analysts predicted that …show more content…

Over the course of eight months, the US airlifted close to 472,000 people and 465,000 tons of cargo to the Persian Gulf, quickly surpassing the numbers of the Berlin Airlift in the 1940s. This sounds impressive, however it was not at all efficient. Though airlifts played an important role in the conflict, the tactic used were wasteful and resulted in a lot more cargo transported to the Middle East than necessary. Today, the US has learned from the wasteful mobility tactics of Operation Desert Storm. The US is now able to track individual items and consolidate loads. Additionally, cargo is now shipped on cargo ships across the ocean before it is flown to the Middle East, as opposed to flying it in from the …show more content…

Desert Storm was the first major conflict where space technology played a vital role in its success, and this set the stage for large usage of space technology in airpower for years to come. Not only were the new space technologies more efficient in helping with satellite communication and navigation, they were also invaluable when it came to being proactive against the Iraqi army.

The use of new technology in communication and navigation was crucial in the success of Desert Storm. Satellite communication was more reliable in Desert Storm than it had ever been before. This was important because airmen now had a faster and more reliable way of communicating to each other, which meant that important decisions could be made a lot more quickly. Additionally, satellites enabled the US to put supplies where they needed them when they needed them. Today, the US has improved on these technologies, resulting in ever faster communication as well as precise airdrops for

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