Storm over Iraq: Air Power and the Gulf War (SMITHSONIAN HISTORY OF AVIATION AND SPACEFLIGHT SERIES) - Hardcover

Hallion, Richard P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560981903 ISBN 13: 9781560981909

Publisher: Smithsonian Inst Pr, 1992

Synopsis

Storm Over Iraq is an incisive account of the Persian Gulf War, which marked a revolution in military history: the ascendancy of air power in warfare. This book - the first detailed analysis of why the Gulf War could be fought the way it was - examines the planning and preparation for war, showing how the success of Desert Storm was the product of two decades of profound changes in the American approach to defense, military doctrine, and combat operations. Richard P. Hallion argues that the development of radical military technologies, particularly those of stealth and precision-guided weapons, enabled military leaders to structure a campaign that shattered Iraq's military machine, completely fulfilling the promise that air power had held for more than seventy-five years.
Hallion traces the history of air power, describing the rebuilding of the American military after Vietnam, the emergence of new doctrines and strategies for air and land warfare, and the various small wars of the 1970s and 1980s. In analyzing the onset of the Gulf crisis and the military operations in response to Saddam Hussein's aggression, he covers planning, strategy, and the conduct of the coalition air campaign and its impact on the Iraqi war machine. Finally, Hallion outlines the significance the war holds for national security planning, including the selection of appropriate forms of military force, the acquisition of new weapons, the pursuit of new technologies, and the effect of air power in confronting global crises.
Detailed appendixes examine specific issues, including "smart" weapons, advanced electronic command and control, and the evolution of high-performance aircraft and missiles. The book is meticulously documented and profusely illustrated with many photos not previously seen as well as detailed maps, tables, charts, and graphs.

About this title

Review:

Authoritative and absorbing. . . . Hallions argument is provocative and challenges many current perceptions of military power projection. Well written, timely and incisive . . . . A rare find. --Military Review

An important study. . . . Hallion traces the evolution of air power doctrine from World War I to [the Gulf War]. It is a story of aspirations and expectations that for many years exceeded the reach of available technology, giving rise to a widespread skepticism about the potential of strategic bombardment. --Journal of Military History

Superb . . . [Storm over Iraq] may be the benchmark by which we measure understanding of the debate over the revolution in warfare that was heralded by Operation Desert Storm. --Airpower Journal

About the Author:

Richard P. Hallion, Air Force Historian, directs the worldwide Air Force historical and museum programs. An internationally recognized aerospace historian, he has written or edited many other books.

About this edition

• Publisher: Smithsonian Inst Pr
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 1560981903
• ISBN 13: 9781560981909
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1