Analysis: How US Rivals Studied the Gulf War

by Kris Osborn

Surveillance aircraft monitored enemy troop movements and stealth bombers eluded radar tracking from air defenses in the opening days of Operation Desert Strom decades ago – very few of those involved were likely considering how their attacks signified a new era in modern warfare.

When veterans, historians and analysts commemorated the 25th anniversary of the first Gulf War in the early 90s, many were likely to regard the military effort as a substantial turning point in the trajectory or evolution of modern warfare.

Many analysts and Pentagon strategists are quick to point out that the US margin of military technological military superiority is much less than it was at the time of the Gulf War; potential adversaries have gone to school on US weapons and have succeeded in narrowing the gap. This phenomenon is one of the key reasons for the Pentagon’s emphasis upon innovation and “Third Offset” effort to uncover new paradigms for technological advances.

What the World Learned

Operation Desert Storm involved the combat debut of stealth technology, GPS for navigation, missile warning systems, more advanced surveillance plane radar, and large amounts of precision-focused laser-guided bombs, Maj. Gen. Paul Johnson, Director of Requirements for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, told Scout Warrior in a special interview last year.

“We saw the first glimpses in Desert Storm of what would become the transformation of air power,” he said.

The five-to-six-week air war, designed to clear the way for what ultimately became a 100-hour ground invasion, began with cruise missiles and Air Force and Army helicopters launching a high-risk mission behind enemy lines to knock out Iraqi early warning radar sites. Two Air Force MH-53 Pave Low helicopters led AH-64 Apache Attack helicopter into Iraqi territory, Johnson explained.