Air warfare in Gulf

Goals of campaign

Achieve air supremacy - Did in first few hours of the war

Support the ground invasion

Destroy industrial systems and command centres i n Baghdad

Aid transport of coalition soldiers

Destroy scuds

Force Iraq out of Kuwait, reinstate Kuwaiti gov, and ensure regional stability

Technology used in Gulf

Laser guided bombs for precision targeting - only 20% of bombs

GPS guided cruise missiles

Nighthawk stealth technology allowed it to be undetected

Anti-radiation missiles

Use of B-52’s carrying air launched cruise missiles

Casualties of Gulf

Iraq lost 407 aircraft

Coalition lost 52

"2500 Iraqi civilians killed

10k Iraqi soldiers killed

Air to air combat - 1 coalition to 20 iraqi planes shot down

Highway of Death

25th - 27th Feb 1991

Intruders and Warthogs hit retreating Iraqi forces on highway 80

Killed roughly 1k Iraqi soldiers and destroyed roughly 2k vehicles

Controversial as Resolution 660 had been met and Iraqi forces were retreating from Kuwait

Invasion

Operation Desert Storm

Led by Schwarzkopf

Jan 1991