History Of Desert Storm

Throughout the history of Air Defense Artillery (ADA), innovative steps were made for the technological advance in weaponry to defend our skies and ground forces. The diverse history and continuous research and development of air defense systems played a vital role in the safety of ground troops and foreign civilians during the Persian Gulf crisis. Though not always in the forefront of battle, ADA had its own vital roles that it played from the time of its birth, and it was no different during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield when necessity helped to bring about the evolution of the PAC-II Patriot missile.

First of all, The Patriot missile system played a vital role during the Persian Gulf War. The Persian Gulf War was a short war from 2 August 1990 to 28 February 1991. Colonel Joseph G. Garrett, the 11th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade Commander was the Air Defense

Prove of the Marine Corps new efforts at warfare would pay off, but with great losses, in the Pacific campaigns, such as Peleliu, Iwo Jim, and Okinawa. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, led to the largest deployment of Marines forces since WWII, which consisted of 24 infantry battalions, and 40 squadrons, which totaled to a number of about 95,000 Marines in the Persian Gulf region, as a part of Operation Desert Shield, which began in August of 1990 to January 1991. It has been known as the “100 Hour War” because “by the morning of Feb. 28, 100 hours after the ground war began, the Iraqi army was no longer a threat.”(www.globalsecurity.org ) Most of the fighting that had been going on between the US military and enemy forces, after 9/11 has been in Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as the Global War on Terrorism “One of the key strategies of Operation Iraqi Freedom during 2003 was the capture of Iraq’s capital, Baghdad. A convoy of thirty thousand Marines advanced five hundred miles from the border of Kuwait in just ten days. On April 9, 2003, Marines secured the center of Baghdad. That same day, Coalition forces declared an end to the dictator’s rule.” (www.marines.com )

The incorporation of Patriot was a result of the confrontation with the Soviet Union. The Patriot system was instantaneously recognized in Desert Storm. Operation Desert Storm began on January 16, 1991. The conflict, better known as the Gulf War, was in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Desert Storm was a crucial battle where Air Defense had the opportunity to showcase its abilities.

It influenced future generations of soldiers and equipment to advance both tactically and technically, greatly increasing the multi-role diversity and capabilities of the Air Defense Artillery systems of today’s United States Army. Compared to the Patriot Launcher Missile system, it showed that Air Defense units could be multifaceted. Like the M42 Duster (SPAAG), the Patriot system demonstrated excellent destruction ratio for aircraft but the system also worked well in defense of TBM’s (Tactical Ballistic

Within three days, Iraq had taken over Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabian oilfields. In response to this, the United States initiated Operation Desert Shield to protect Saudi Arabia. Operation Desert Storm began only 4 months after Iraq's initial intent on invading Kuwait. Within almost 4 days, US forces drove out Iraq all the way from Kuwait to the southern border of Iraq.

After consulting with U. S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney in early August 1990, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia invited American troops onto Saudi soil. He had seen Kuwait's destiny; therefore, he wanted protection. It was also the interest of the USA to stop any further advantage of the Iraqi army. The deployment was called "Operation Desert Shield." These troops were armed with light, defensive weaponry.

“Early on the morning of January 17, 1991, a massive U.S.-led air offensive hit Iraq’s air defenses, moving swiftly on to its communications networks, weapons plants, oil refineries and more. The coalition effort, known as Operation Desert Storm, benefited from the latest military technology, including Stealth bombers, Cruise missiles, so-called “Smart” bombs with laser-guidance systems and infrared night-bombing equipment” (“Persian Gulf War - Facts & Summary”). The goal here was to win the war in the air in order to reduce combat on the ground as much as possible. “By mid-February, the coalition forces had shifted the focus of their air attacks toward Iraqi ground forces in Kuwait and southern Iraq. A massive allied ground offensive, Operation Desert Sabre, was launched on February 24, with troops heading from northeastern Saudi Arabia into Kuwait and southern Iraq. Over the next four days, coalition forces encircled and defeated the Iraqis and liberated Kuwait” (“Persian Gulf War - Facts & Summary”). Bush declared a ceasefire on February 28, ending the Persian Gulf War. According to the peace terms, Iraq would recognize Kuwait’s sovereignty and get rid of all of it’s weapons of mass

“Desert Storm was the first combat test of the cruise missile system. It also marked the first coordinated Tomahawk and manned aircraft strike in history. Within the first few minutes of Operation Desert Storm, Tomahawk missiles launched from battleships Missouri and Wisconsin struck with accuracy at Iraq’s presidential palace,” (Hersh, Press, 1994, p.137).

Over the years, America has been involved in numerous conflicts. One of the most controversial has been the Vietnam War. Even though the United States Military failed in its efforts in the war against Vietnam, the military has learned valuable lessons about our forces during the conflict. Anti-Aircraft weapons were used during the Vietnam War, and their capabilities have increased over time to become what is now called Air Defense. Air Defense’s equipment, units, and personnel played a critical role especially during the ambush on Route 9 of the Vietnam War.

Along with other countries, including Egypt, Great Britain, France, Syria, Saudi Arabia any more. As of that moment, “Operation Desert Shield” begins. 230,000 troops are deployed, but as more Iraqi’s are coming to Saudi Arabia, Bush orders another 200,000 troops to defend Saudi Arabia. On January 16, 1991, Bush got congressional promotion to engage in the ‘the most devastating air assault in history military targets in Iraq and Kuwait’ (The Persian Gulf War (Jan. 16, 1991–April 6, 1991). On February 24, 1991, the president also ordered on ground battle to

On August 2, 1990, Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, attacked Kuwait as a result of overproduction of oil in Kuwait, which had cost Iraq an estimated $14 billion a year when oil process of obtaining the

The Patriot Advanced Capability 2 version acquired the capability to operate against other missiles, beyond just aircrafts, by the US armed forces through an improved fuse and warhead in comparison to the PAC-1 (Maital & Seshadri, 2012). Furthermore, the US Army made changes to not only the software of the PAC-2 missile but the radar system which guided it. These improvements gave the missiles the ability to intercept other missiles which was different than previous models. Interception in this case was not considered just the capability to knock a missile off course but to destroy them which was the objective of this product. Beyond physical attributes, it acquired them through the recognition that tactile ballistic missiles were all over Europe and increased threats, prompting improvements to occur (Maital & Seshadri, 2012).

After the Cold War and with the help of German rocket scientists captured during World War two, the Patriot system was produced in 1965. According to Schubert and Kraus (2000) “With its excellent phased-array radar, a Patriot battery could search for, detect, identify, track, engage, and destroy a missile without external help” (p. 241). Patriot was first battle tested in the first phase of Desert Storm. At the start of the war, Patriot only had PAC-1 missiles in their inventory. The more capable PAC-2 missile production did not begin until 1990. Within a few months there was a sufficient amount of Patriot missiles for Desert Storm wartime operations. General Norman Schwarzkopf said “When the history of Desert Storm is written, the Patriot

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait in early August 1990. Alarmed by these actions, fellow Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to intervene. Hussein defied United Nations Security Council demands to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991 and the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm4. After 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28; by that time, most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or run away. Though the Persian Gulf War was initially considered an unqualified success for the international coalition, simmering conflict in the troubled region led