Storm Over Iraq: Air Power and the Gulf War

Although it had its share of land and sea engagements, the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91 was preeminently an aerial conflict, one in which the Allied forces were able to put into practice an evolving theory of warcraft that favored the destruction of things over people and the control rather than the conquest of an enemy power. From a technological standpoint, writes U.S. Air Force historian Richard Hallion, the Allied forces were inordinately successful. He traces the history of air-combat techniques employed in battle over Iraq, analyzes the weaponry used (including the remarkable F117A stealth fighter), and points out the shortcomings in the Allies' performance, notably in combat search and rescue.