Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase of the Gulf War, began with an extensive aerial bombing campaign by the air forces of the coalition against targets in Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait from 17 January to 23 February 1991. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition flew over 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs,. destroying military and civilian infrastructure.. The air campaign was commanded by United States Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant General Chuck Horner, who briefly served as Commander-in-Chief—Forward of U.S. Central Command while General Norman Schwarzkopf was still in the United States. The British air commanders were Air Chief Marshal Andrew Wilson, to 17 November 1990, and Air Vice-Marshal Bill Wratten, from 17 November. The air campaign had largely finished by 23 February 1991 with the beginning of the coalition ground offensive into Kuwait.
The initial strikes were carried out by AGM-86 ALCM cruise missiles launched by B-52 Stratofortress bombers, Tomahawk cruise missilesBoyne (2003), pp. 359, 360 launched from U.S. Navy warships situated in the Persian Gulf, by F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft with an armament of laser-guided smart bombs, and by F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft and F/A-18 Hornet aircraft armed with HARM anti-radar missiles. These first attacks allowed F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and F/A-18 Hornet combat aircraft to gain air superiority over Iraq and then continue to drop television-guided and laser-guided bombs.
Armed with a GAU-8 rotary cannon and infrared-imaging or optically guided AGM-65 Maverick missiles, USAF A-10 Thunderbolt IIs bombed and destroyed Iraqi armored forces, supporting the advance of U.S. ground troops. United States Marine Corps close air support AV-8B Harriers employed their 25mm rotary cannon, Mavericks, cluster munitions, and napalm against the Iraqi dug-in forces to pave the way forward for the U.S. Marines breaching Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's defenses. The U.S. Army attack helicopters: AH-64 Apache and AH-1 Cobra fired laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire and TOW missiles, which were guided to tanks by ground observers or by scout helicopters, such as the OH-58D Kiowa.Gross (2002), p. 235. The Coalition air fleet also made use of the E-3A Airborne Warning and Control Systems and of a fleet of B-52 Stratofortress bombers.Gross (2002), pp. 226–7
Opposing Forces
Coalition Armed Forces
On the eve of Operation Desert Storm, the Coalition of the Gulf War numbered 2,430 fixed-wing aircraft in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations (KTO), almost three-fourths of which belonged to the United States Armed Forces. When the ground assault began on 24 February, that number had increased to over 2,780. Representing a relatively high tooth-to-tail ratio, approximately 60 percent of Coalition aircraft were "shooters" or combat aircraft.Conduct of the Persian Gulf War: Chapters I through VIII. (1992). United States: United States Department of Defense. pg. 141 The United States Air Force deployed over 1,300 aircraft during the course of the campaign, followed by the United States Navy with over 400 aircraft and the United States Marine Corps with approximately 240. Collectively, the other Coalition partners accounted for over 600 aircraft.Conduct of the Persian Gulf War: Chapters I through VIII. (1992). United States: United States Department of Defense. pg. 221-222
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates all contributed air forces to the campaign, as did the United Kingdom (Operation Granby), France (Opération Daguet), Canada (Operation Friction) and Italy (Operazione Locusta). South Korea, Argentina and New Zealand provided a small number of transport aircraft. South Korea, Kuwait, Italy and Japan paid for the cost of 200 airlift flights into Saudi Arabia. Germany, Belgium and Italy each sent a squadron of fighters as part of their NATO obligation to protect Turkey. These aircraft were strictly defensive and did not take part in the campaign against Iraq.Cohen, E. A., Keaney, T. A. (1993). Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. United States: Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. pg. 181Cohen, E. A., Keaney, T. A. (1993). Gulf War Air Power Survey: A statistical compendium and chronology. United States: Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. pg. 42-45
In terms of quantity and quality, Coalition airpower was superior to its Iraqi counterpart. This was particularly the case in special capabilities which the Iraqis simply lacked, including aerial refueling, airborne command and control, electronic warfare, precision munitions and stealth aircraft. Such capabilities were primarily, if not exclusively, provided for by the United States.Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. pg. 204 In space, sixteen military communications satellites, fourteen of which belonged to the United States, were supplemented with five commercial satellites to provide the vast majority of communication within the theater of operations. Combined they had a total transmission rate of 200 million bits per second, or equivalent to 39,000 simultaneous telephone calls.Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. pg. 193 A range of other satellites provided additional intelligence-gathering services, including the Defense Support Program, Landsat program, SPOT, and six meteorological satellites.Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. pg. 194
One area where the Coalition was deficient was in tactical reconnaissance. Aircraft specializing in reconnaissance were reportedly given low priority due to lack of space and the belief that strategic platforms could take over their role, a belief which would prove misplaced. Efforts to compensate for this deficiency included using regular fighter aircraft in the reconnaissance role and RQ-2 Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles. Deployed mainly by the U.S. Marines, the RQ-2 was sufficient for certain missions but lacking in many respects compared to dedicated aircraft.Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. p. 195
AircraftTypeDeployed1-Jan-91Deployed1-Feb-91+Operation Desert Storm Aircraft - United StatesCohen, E. A, Keaney, T. A. (1993). Gulf War Air Power Survey: A statistical compendium and chronology. United States: Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. Pg. 27-28United States Air ForceCombat AircraftF-15C EagleFighter aircraft9696F-16 Fighting FalconMultirole fighter168212F-4G Phantom IISEAD4849F-15E Strike EagleStrike fighter4648A-10 Thunderbolt IIAttack aircraft120144F-111F AardvarkAttack/Interdictor6464F-117A NighthawkStealth Attack3642B-52 StratofortressBomber2036AC-130 GunshipGunship42Recon/Surveillance/Electronic-warfare aircraftU-2 Dragon LadyRecon aircraft35TR-1A Dragon LadyTactical Recon24RF-4C Phantom IITactical Recon618RC-135V/W Rivet JointSIGINT47E-8A Joint STARSABS/BM/C&C22E-3A SentryAEW&C711EF-111A RavenElectronic warfare1818Boeing EC-135Electronic warfare02Transport/Aerial Refueling AircraftKC-10 ExtenderTanker aircraft630KC-135 StratotankerTanker aircraft164194C-20 GulfstreamVIP transport11Learjet C-21AVIP transport88C-130 HerculesTactical airlift96149United States NavyCombat AircraftF-14A/A+ TomcatFighter/Interceptor76109F/A-18A/C HornetMultirole fighter8889A-7E Corsair IIAttack aircraft2424A-6E TRAM/SWIP IntruderAttack aircraft6296Support AircraftE-2C HawkeyeAEW&C2129EA-6B ProwlerElectronic warfare2127EA-3B SkywarriorElectronic reconnaissance 6 or fewer6 or fewerKA-6D IntruderTanker aircraft1616C-2A GreyhoundCargo aircraft22S-3A/B VikingMulti-mission3143United States Marine CorpsCombat AircraftF/A-18A/C/D HornetMultirole fighter7278AV-8B HarrierAttack aircraft8184A-6E TRAM IntruderAttack aircraft2020AH-1 SuperCobraAttack helicopter4375Support AircraftEA-6B ProwlerElectronic warfare1212OV-10 BroncoAttack/FAC819Lockheed KC-130Tanker aircraft1215CH-46 Sea KnightTransport helicopter72120UH-1 IroquoisUtility helicopter3650CH-53D Sea StallionHeavy-lift helicopter2029CH-53E Super StallionHeavy-lift helicopter3348United States ArmyCombat AircraftAH-64 ApacheAttack helicopter189245AH-1S CobraAttack helicopter112141Support AircraftUH-60 Black HawkUtility helicopter2020UH-1 IroquoisUtility helicopter169197OH-58C KiowaReconnaissance257324OH-58D KiowaReconnaissance7997CH-47 ChinookTransport helicopter99127Special Operations Command CentralHC-130 HerculesSearch & Rescue/CSAR44EC-130E HerculesABCCC66EC-130E Volant SoloPSYOPS22EC-130H Compass CallElectronic Warfare55MC-130 HerculesAirlift/Refueling44MH-53J Pave LowSpec Ops/CSAR813MH-60G Pave HawkSpec Ops/CSAR84MH-47 ChinookTransport helicopterN/A4UH-60V Black HawkUtility helicopterN/A64EH-60 Black HawkSIGINT/Electronic Warfare2727UH-1V IroquoisMedivacN/A115
AircraftTypeDeployedNotes+Operation Desert Storm Aircraft - Allied CountriesCohen, Keaney (1993), Volume V, Pg. 317Royal Saudi Air ForcePanavia Tornado ADVInterceptor aircraft24Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. pg. 197F-15C EagleFighter aircraft69F-5E/F Freedom FighterLight fighter87Gulf War Air Power Survey: Summary Report. pg. 199Panavia Tornado IDSInterdictor/Attack24RF-5E Freedom FighterReconnaissance10E-3 SentryAEW&CC-130 HerculesTactical airliftKE-3A SentryTanker aircraftKC-130 HerculesTanker aircraftBell 212Utility HelicopterBAe 125VIP TransportRoyal Air Force/Fleet Air Arm/Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)Flintham, V. (2009). High Stakes: Britain's Air Arms in Action 1945-1990. United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Aviation. Ch 9.4 - The Second Gulf War (1990-1991)Panavia Tornado F3Interceptor aircraft18Panavia Tornado GR1Interdictor/Attack486 GR1a variantsSEPECAT Jaguar GR.1AAttack aircraft12Blackburn Buccaneer S.2BAttack aircraft12Hawker Siddeley NimrodMaritime Patrol Aircraft83 R.1, 5 MR.2 variantsC-130 HerculesTactical airlift7Vickers VC10Aerial refueling9K2, K3 variantsLockheed TristarAerial refueling2Handley Page VictorAerial refueling8BN-2 IslanderUtility aircraft1BAe 125VIP Transport1SA 341B GazelleUtility/Armed helicopter24(British Army)Westland LynxAttack/light utility helicopter24AH.7 (British Army)Westland LynxMaritime attack helicopter10HAS.4GM/HAS.3CTS (Royal Navy)Boeing Chinook HC1Transport helicopter17Westland Sea KingMedium-lift helicopter2220 HC.4, 2 HAS variants (Royal Navy)French Air ForceMicheletti (1991), IntroductionMirage 2000CMultirole fighter12Assigned to Al-AhsaMirage F1CMultirole fighter8Assigned to Doha (Opération Meteil)Mirage F1CRReconnaissance4Assigned to Al-AhsaSEPECAT Jaguar AAttack aircraft24Assigned to Al-AhsaC-160G GabrielSIGINT1Assigned to Al-AhsaDC-8F SarigueElectronic warfare1Operated from FranceTransall C-160Transport aircraft5Assigned to RiyadhKC-135FRTanker aircraft5Assigned to RiyadhNord 262Airliner1Assigned to RiyadhMystère XXVIP Transport1Assigned to RiyadhSA 330 PumaSearch & Rescue2Assigned to Al-AhsaRoyal Canadian Air ForceCF-18 HornetMultirole fighter18CC-130 HerculesTransport aircraftBoeing CC-137Aerial refueling3CC-144 ChallengerVIP transportItalian Air ForceTornado IDSInterdictor/Strike10Aeritalia G.222Transport aircraftKuwaiti Air ForceMirage F1Multirole fighter15A-4 SkyhawkAttack aircraft20Royal Bahraini Air ForceF-16 Fighting FalconMultirole fighter12F-5 Freedom FighterLight fighter12Bell 212Utility helicopterUnited Arab Emirates Air ForceMirage 2000Multirole fighterC-130 HerculesTactical airliftBell 212Utility helicopterQatar Air ForceMirage F1Multirole fighterAlpha JetLight attack/trainer
Iraqi Armed Forces