Operation Desert Storm Case Study

BACKGROUND PAPER

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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 the US would emerge with an enormous amount of casualties being up against the fifth strongest army in the world. They did not believe the doctrines and capabilities of the US Air Force were built to work effectively with other nations. However, the operation not only proved that the US was able to integrate into an effective coalition, but also that they were strong enough to lead the largest coalition air effort

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