The Role Of Airpower In The Iran Iraq War

This report is an outgrowth of the questions raised in the fall of 1980 and spring of 1981 about the conduct of air operations in the war between Iran and Iraq. Unlike previous Middle Eastern wars, this one had continued over a protracted period while we in the United States and in the US Air Force had been able to observe it only from a distance. As the war haltingly progressed, we began to have a fair picture of what was going on in the air war, though our information was far from complete or detailed. The sketchy picture that emerged, however, seemed to indicate that combatants were using their airpower assets in way contrary to our expectations. Most notably, it seemed that both sides seemed content not to use their airpower and relied instead on ground forces for most combat operations. This report examines the air war between Iran and Iraq, but rather than attempt simply to lay out what happened in the war, it attempts to discern why Iran and Iraq used their airpower as they did. The results of this study do not call into question any basic US Air Force airpower approaches, but they do highlight significant considerations that affect the use of airpower by Third World nations.

"This book focuses on the role of the air power in the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988. The authors made full use of extensive research, eyewitness accounts, interviews with dozens of people directly involved, as well as recently declassified documents from around the world which are published here for the first time. ... describes and analyzes both the development of the Iranian and the Iraqi air forces, their involvement in combat operations, while simultaneously discussing their organization and capabilities, and detailing their equipment to detail."--Edited from publisher's web site.

An incisive account of the Persian Gulf War, Storm Over Iraq shows how the success of Operation Desert Storm was the product of two decades of profound changes in the American approach to defense, military doctrine, and combat operations. The first detailed analysis of why the Gulf War could be fought the way it was, the book examines the planning and preparation for war. Richard P. Hallion argues that the ascendancy of precision air power in warfare—which fulfilled the promise that air power had held for more than seventy-five years—reflects the revolutionary adaptation of a war strategy that targets things rather than people, allowing one to control an opposing nation without destroying it.

This unique book an outgrowth of questions raised about the conduct of air operations in the war between Iran and Iraq. Unlike previous Middle Eastern wars, this one had continued over a protracted period while we in the United States and in the US Air Force had been able to observe it only from a distance. As the war haltingly progressed, we began to have a fair picture of what was going on in the air war, though our information was far from complete or detailed. The sketchy picture that emerged, however, seemed to indicate the combatants were using their airpower assets in ways contrary to our expectations. Most notably, it seemed that both sides seemed content not to use their airpower and relied instead on ground forces for most combat operations. This report examines the air war between Iran and Iraq, but rather than attempt simply to lay out what happened in the war, it attempts to discern why Iran and Iraq used their airpower as they did. The results of this study do not call into question any basic US Air Force airpower approaches, but they do highlight significant considerations that affect the use of airpower by Third World nations. CHAPTER 1 - THE ARAB AIR WARFARE EXPERIENCE * The First Arab-Israeli War - 1947-49 * Lessons: 1948 * The Suez War - 29 October-7 November 1956 * Lessons: 1956 * The Six-Day War - 1967 * Lessons: 1967 * The October War - 1973 * Lessons: 1973 * Wrap-up - The Arab Wars * Notes * CHAPTER 2 - BACKGROUNDS OF THE IQAF AND IIAF * The Iraqi Air Force * Wartime Combat Experience * Political Influences * Organization and Mission * The Iranian Air Force * Notes * CHAPTER 3 - REASONS FOR THE WAR * The Reasons * Notes * CHAPTER 4 - THE WAR - THE INITIAL STAGES * Notes * CHAPTER 5 - THE AIR WAR * Deterrence - The Primary Role for Air Forces * Performance - The IQAF and IIAF in Strategic Strikes * The Vital Importance of Attrition * Performance - The IQAF and IIAF in Strategic Defense * Doctrinal Approaches * Offensive Counterair Operations * The Iraqi Attack * The Iranian Response * Support for Ground Forces - Close Air Support/Interdiction * Command and Control - Different Approaches * Notes * CHAPTER 6 - CONCLUSIONS * The Role of Airpower * Strategic Considerations * Cultural Factors Impacting Strategy * Airpower Approaches * Principles of War * Cultural Factors Impacting Military Operations * Notes

This collection of essays reflects the proceedings of a 1991 conference on "The United States Air Force: Aerospace Challenges and Missions in the 1990s," sponsored by the USAF and Tufts University. The 20 contributors comment on the pivotal role of airpower in the war with Iraq and address issues and choices facing the USAF, such as the factors that are reshaping strategies and missions, the future role and structure of airpower as an element of US power projection, and the aerospace industry's views on what the Air Force of the future will set as its acquisition priorities and strategies. The authors agree that aerospace forces will be an essential and formidable tool in US security policies into the next century. The contributors include academics, high-level military leaders, government officials, journalists, and top executives from aerospace and defense contractors.

The Iraqi Air Force failed to live up to its prewar billing during Operation Desert Storm. Touted by many sources as an experienced, aggressive power before the war, Saddam's air force turned out to be quite the opposite. This paper explains why the Iraqi performance in Desert Storm was predictable: Nonindustrialized, third world nations are incapable of fielding a decisive, conventional air force. To illustrate the point, this essay studies Iraq's performance in the war against Iran. During the conflict, the Iraqi air force obtained all the equipment and training money could buy, but after eight years of combat experience it still made only minor contributions in a war effort against an equal foe. Each country is unique, but the same vulnerabilities that restrained Iraq's forces affect every other nonindustrialized nation. The in- ability of third world nations to independently organize, train, and equip air forces to decisive levels is inevitable. Avoiding large, wasted sums of money fielding a force of questionable value should lead these countries to alternative forms of aerial warfare.

For nearly two decades the United States Air Force (USAF) oriented the bulk of its thinking, acquisition, planning, and training on the threat of a Soviet blitzkrieg across the inter German border. The Air Force fielded a powerful conventional arm well rehearsed in the tactics required to operate over a central European battlefield. Then, in a matter of days, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait altered key assumptions that had been developed over the previous decade and a half. The USAF faced a different foe employing a different military doctrine in an unexpected environment. Instead of disrupting a fast paced land offensive, the combat wings of the United States Central Command Air Forces (CENTAF) were ordered to attack a large, well fortified, and dispersed Iraqi ground force. The heart of that ground force was the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC). CENTAF's mission dictated the need to develop an unfamiliar repertoire of tactics and procedures to meet theater objectives. How effectively did CENTAF adjust air operations against the Republican Guard to the changing realities of combat? Answering that question is central to this study, and the answer resides in evaluation of the innovations developed by CENTAF to improve its operational and tactical performance against the Republican Guard. Effectiveness and timeliness are the primary criteria used for evaluating innovations.