Airpower in the Post Cold War

Overview I Gulf War Background The Enemy The Plan of Attack Objectives Concept of Operations Five Strategic Rings Targets Phases of the Campaign Operations PROVIDE COMFORT/NORTHERN WATCH The Conflict and Lessons Learned

Overview II Operation SOUTHERN WATCH History of the Balkans The Conflict and Lessons Learned History of the Balkans Background Ethnic Groups Operation DENY FLIGHT

Overview III Operation ALLIED FORCE Evolution of Airpower Background NATO Actions Operation ALLIED FORCE Begins Lessons learned by US Military Political Lessons Learned Impact of Lessons Learned on Future DOD Budget Evolution of Airpower

Gulf War Background Conflict began 2 August 1990 Iraq and Kuwait could not settle grievances over oil Saddam Hussein sent armies to invade Kuwait

US Objectives Immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait Restoration of Kuwait’s legitimate government Security and stability of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf Protection of American citizens abroad

Operation DESERT SHIELD CENTCOM CINC—Army Gen H. Norman Schwarzkopf CENTAF Lt Gen Charles A. Horner Became JFACC during the war In first 5 days: Five fighter squadrons, contingent of AWACS, and part of 82d Airborne Division Equaled Iraqi force in first 35 days Air Reserves/Air National Guard called to active duty

DESERT STORM Begins 16 Jan—An 11th-hour appeal for Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait drew silence 17 Jan—Operation DESERT STORM began as allied forces answered Iraq’s silence Within 10 days, air sorties reached the 10,000 mark

Iraqi Threat 4th largest armed force in world Well over 1 million troops 750 combat and 200 support aircraft Nuclear, biological, and chemical capabilities SCUD Missiles

Air Defense Threat Iraq’s air defense system thought to be the best outside of the Soviet Union United States was probably the only nation in the world with the airpower to “disintegrate” an integrated system of this type

Leadership Focus

Objectives Isolate and incapacitate Iraqi command structure Win air superiority Destroy nuclear, biological, and chemical capabilities Eliminate Iraqi offensive military capability Eject Iraqi Army from Kuwait

Concept Of Operations Powerful and focused air attacks on strategic centers of gravity over a short period of time Target Hussein Regime, not Iraqi people Minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage Minimize Coalition losses Pit US and Coalition strengths against Iraqi weaknesses

Instant Thunder Developed by Colonel John Warden and his Checkmate staff in Washington Named in direct response to Vietnam’s unsuccessful Rolling Thunder campaign Based on a unique five-ring model of the modern nation-state

The Five Strategic Rings

Target Systems Target Systems. 1. National Leadership--again, the most important strategic target. a. This category targeted the civil/military command structure, internal control mechanisms, and communication systems. b. We did not target specific individuals! 2. Key Production/Organic Essentials--major industries that support the command structure and military forces. Electricity Oil industry Munitions/military production And especially nuclear, biological, and chemical industries. 3. National Infrastructure--key interdiction targets that support transportation system--most lucrative transportation targets, generally railroad and highway bridges. 4. National Population--nontargeted; the purpose was to influence leadership, not destroy population. a. Army psychological operations (psyops) units in the Kuwait Theater directed psyops against deployed Iraqi forces--leaflets encouraging surrender, etc. b. No strategic psyops against the Iraqi population were attempted. 5. Fielded Military forces--major military forces that shield other four strategic rings. Iraqi air defenses and air force. SCUD missiles. And ground forces (especially Republican Guard). TRANSITION We now understand what we were up against, and our strategy to defeat them now, let’s look at how we were going to fight the war.

Leadership Focus

Campaign Overview Four Part Campaign: Phase I: Strategic Air Campaign Phase II: Suppression of enemy Air Defenses over Kuwait vicinity Phase III: Air Attacks on ground forces in Kuwait and vicinity Phase IV: Ground Operations as directed

And in the end… On 27 Feb 1991, the Iraqi military was scattered and defeated Iraq lost 90 aircraft to coalition forces 122 Iraqi aircraft fled to Iran Stealth provided the needed edge The Persian Gulf War officially ended on 11 Apr 1991

Leadership Focus

Post-Desert Storm Video

The Crisis in Iraq—ONW UN Security Council established a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to protect the Kurdish people from attacks by Saddam Hussein Operation Provide Comfort began on 5 Apr 1991 as a humanitarian relief effort to deliver food, clothing, and supplies to Iraq’s Kurdish refugees C-130s began airdropping supplies on 7 Apr 1991 Lasted approximately 8 years and was then replaced by Operation NORTHERN WATCH

The Crisis in Iraq: Lessons Learned—ONW The need to avoid fratricide The limitations of airdrops Host-country tensions The need for alternate bases Lack of an exit strategy

The Crisis in Iraq—OSW OSW was a Combined Task Force enforcing the “no-fly zone” below the 32nd parallel (extended to 33rd in 1996) in southern Iraq Not an aggression against Iraq—executed as a self-defense measure Coalition partners included the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait Fire from more than 850 Iraqi SAMs and AAAs directed at coalition aircraft Iraq violated the no-fly zone more than 160 times More than 150,000 USAF sorties by 1998

“What we’ve effectively done since 1992 is conduct an air occupation of a country…” General Ronald R. Fogleman Jul 1995

The Crisis in Iraq: Lessons Learned—OSW Became a test for USAF AEF concept in Oct 1995 Quality-of-life changes needed due to high Ops-Tempo Reorganized Security Forces

Leadership Focus

The Balkans: A Brief History After World War II, monarchy abolished; Communist Party leader Tito proclaimed the country the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, with himself as prime Minister Eliminating opposition, the Tito gov’t executed Mihajlovic in 1946 Tito died in 1980, and the fragility of the federation he ruled quickly became apparent

Three Ethnic Groups In Conflict Serbs—Dominant in Yugoslavia's politics and army, orthodox Christianity makes them natural allies of Russia Croats—Roman Catholics, closer to the West than Serbs and exposed to Western Influences Muslims—Living mainly in ethnically mixed towns and cities in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Operation DENY FLIGHT Oct 1992, UN Security Council Resolution 781 established a no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina Operation DENY FLIGHT Enforced the no-fly zone Provided close air support to UN troops Conducted approved air strikes under a dual-key command arrangement with the UN 28 Feb 1994, NATO aircraft shot down four warplanes violating the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina This was the first military engagement ever undertaken by the Alliance

Operation DENY FLIGHT NATO objectives Bosnian Serb compliance to cease attacks on Sarajevo and other safe areas Withdrawal of Bosnian Serb heavy weapons from the total exclusion zone around Sarajevo Complete freedom of movement for UN Forces and personnel, and nongovernment officials Unrestricted use of Sarajevo airport

Operation DENY FLIGHT NATO missions of Operation DENY FLIGHT To conduct aerial monitoring and enforce compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 816 To provide close air support for UN troops on the ground at the request of, and controlled by, UN forces To conduct approved air strikes against designated targets threatening the security of the UN-declared safe areas

Operation DENY FLIGHT Operation DENY FLIGHT lasted from 12 Apr 1993-20 Dec 1995 Almost 100,000 sorties flown A formal closure ceremony was held in Vicenza, Italy on 21 Dec 1995 Forces associated with Operation DENY FLIGHT were then transferred to Operation DECISIVE ENDEAVOR as part of the overall NATO operation JOINT ENDEAVOR.

The Crisis in Bosnia: Lessons Learned Lack of doctrine Tactical air and space power problems Bases weren’t large enough to accept the contingency surges Coalition/Joint problems Technological problems

KOSOVO

Kosovo Crisis Kosovo lies in southern Serbia and has a mixed population, the majority of which are ethnic Albanians (Muslims) Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic altered the status of the region, removing its autonomy and bringing it under the direct control of Belgrade, the Serbian capital The Kosovar Albanians strenuously opposed the move

United States & NATO Interests at Stake Serb aggression threatened peace throughout the Balkans and the stability of NATO’s SE region Belgrade’s repression in Kosovo created a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions President Milosevic’s conduct directly challenged the credibility of NATO

NATO Action After the failure of repeated international diplomatic efforts since the spring of 1998 to peacefully resolve the conflict in Kosovo North Atlantic Council decided on 23 March 1999 to authorize NATO air strikes Aimed at strategic targets in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to end the repression of Kosovar Albanians by the Yugoslav government

NATO’s Objectives A stop to all military action and the immediate ending of violence and repression The withdrawal from Kosovo of the military, police, and paramilitary forces The stationing in Kosovo of an international military presence

NATO’s Objectives (cont’d) The unconditional and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons Establish political framework agreement for Kosovo in conformity with international law

Significance of Air Power in Allied Force B-2s make combat debut 30 hour flight JDAM technology enables all weather bombing F-117s used in majority of strike packages Lost F-117 and recovered pilot

Significance of Air Power in Allied Force UAVs: Provided target information Conducted battle damage assessment Monitored refugees ISR synchronized combat operations

NATO’s Strategic Objectives Demonstrate the seriousness of their opposition to Belgrade’s aggression in the Balkans Deter Milosevic’s attacks on helpless civilians, and reverse ethnic cleansing Damage Serbia’s capacity to wage war against Kosovo

Military Objective “Degrade and damage the military and security structure President Milosevic has used to depopulate and destroy the Albanian majority in Kosovo.” William Cohen, SECDEF 15 April 1999

Lessons Learned on Kosovo War Objectives US Grand Strategy Maintain a peaceful, prosperous US-led Europe Convince NATO to transition from old Cold War common defense against external threats to new Continental security coalition Persuade NATO to acquire means and will to conduct out of area military ops European Strategy Maintain a peaceful, prosperous, and independent Europe Prevent spillover into Albania and Macedonia, then to Greece and Turkey Maintain NATO relationship with Russia and give it a role in helping end the crisis Demonstrate European unity Kosovo War Aims Stop the Serbian slaughter and expulsion of ethnic Albanians Remove Milosevic from power Accomplish the above with minimal collateral damage and NATO casualties Common Effort Concealed Widely Differing Objectives

Lessons Learned by US Military United States air refuelers were stretched thin during operation Force structure numbers and resources were inadequate for current level of commitments (all services); support and training as important to victory as strike Older platforms with smart weapons may be seen as good enough; smart weapons may be better than smart platforms Need the right force structure for the future C4ISR is currently the weakest link in joint and coalition ops On the brink of another “hollow force”

Political Lessons Learned by Europeans Militarily, Europe remains dependent on Americans Best technology, weapons, and platforms “Made in USA.” Politicians unwilling to pay the cost of matching unique US capabilities United States cannot always be counted on to serve the Alliance’s interests US focus shifted with opinion polls Fear US commitment could falter if US forces take heavy casualties

More Political Lessons Learned by Europeans European Union can provide diplomatic muscle (Martti Ahtisaari saves the day); many foreign policy interests are similar among EU Nations Threat of rising Islamic fundamentalism Humanitarian (ethnic cleansing) Need to build external identity Europe can overcome internal diversity to maintain cohesion German Luftwaffe conducted first combat missions since 1945 Greece provided logistical support despite popular opposition Italy and France (which have Communist ministers) offered air bases

Impact of Kosovo Lessons Learned on Future DOD Budget Trends No DOD/Allied spending surge like post-Desert Storm International defense market continues to shrink Readiness and retention will increasingly consume $$$$ for modernization Inevitable tax cut legislation will further erode DOD budgets Services must eventually deal with the bow wave Old platforms with smart weapons were good enough Congress may balk at big bills for new platforms (JSF, F-22, CVX, DD-21) Support forces will need big $$$$ too “We have to make a trade between smart weapons and platforms...We need to encourage the services to concentrate more on smart weapons.” Jacques Gansler Former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics

Evolution of Airpower What were significant airpower achievements and changes during this period? Who were some of the key leaders? What doctrinal changes occurred during this period?

Air Power during the 1990s Key People Gen McPeak Lt. Gen Horner Col Warden Key Weapons Precision Guided Munitions Stealth Technology UAVs and Space Technology Key Doctrinal Focus Precision Engagement Air Superiority Building Partnerships

Summary I Gulf War Background The Enemy The Plan of Attack Objectives Concept of Operations Five Strategic Rings Targets Phases of the Campaign Operations PROVIDE COMFORT/NORTHERN WATCH The Conflict and Lessons Learned

Summary II Operation SOUTHERN WATCH History of the Balkans The Conflict and Lessons Learned History of the Balkans Background Ethnic Groups

Summary III Operation DENY FLIGHT Operation ALLIED FORCE The Conflict and Lessons Learned Operation ALLIED FORCE Background NATO Actions Operation ALLIED FORCE Begins Lessons learned by US Military Political Lessons Learned Impact of Lessons Learned on Future DOD Budget Evolution of Airpower