The Gulf War Essay

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.

The HAWK missile system has a fairly short history compared to many other weapons and Units. At only 35 years of Army service, it was short lived and underutilized. The missile system spent most of its time in the Army National Guard (ARNG) rather than active service. This was mainly due to its high mobility and ease of deployment, making it less cost effective to have active component units. HAWK is a highly praised Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system, but is no longer in the U.S. Army’s arsenal. However, countries such as Sweden, Japan and several Asian Pacific countries are still utilizing

Throughout American history wars have played a huge part. From the start of the country to the present wars have played a lagrge part in shaping America into the national power that it is today. Not only is America the most pwerful nation in thwe world but it is also the policeman for the entire world, making and checking up on the world and all the interactions of foreign countries worldwide. Being born in born in the early eighties prohibitied me from experiencing many of the Americas war firsthand. This however changed early in the 1990's.

(INTRODUCTION) In August 1964, Vietnamese DRV torpedo boats attacked two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. President London B. Johnson ordered the retaliatory bombing of military targets in North Vietnam. Shortly after the incident, U.S. congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson war-making powers, and U.S. planes began regular bombing raids (Reference http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history ). In Vietnam, the US enjoyed virtual air supremacy. Nevertheless, Air Defense Artillery (ADA) units were able to distinguish themselves and prove their versatility by providing fire support to ground forces. ADA earned more than 450 medals for valor, receiving more than 1000 Purple Hearts, and one Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to SGT Mitchell Stout (Reference http://www.usc.edu/dept-00/dept/armyrotc/branches/air_defense.html ). Despite there being no confirmed aerial engagements, Air Defense Artillery played a vital role in the Vietnam War, and were at times crucial to battle success, proving their versatility, adaptability, flexibility.

Just after midnight on June 4th,1942, the United States attacked a fleet of Japanese transport ships. One American torpedo plane took out fleet tanker "Akabono Maru". Later that morning at about 6:30am, Japanese planes began bombing midway island installations, though causing minimal damage to the U.S. naval

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

accurate and hit the target wherever they aimed. Eventually the U.S. realized they weren’t going

The Persian Gulf War all started because of one country’s greed for oil. Iraq accused Kuwait of pumping oil and not sharing the benfits, and Kuwait was pumping more oil than allowed under quotas set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, it decreased the price of oil, Iraq's main export. Iraq's complaints against Kuwait grew more and more harsh, but they were mostly about money. When Iraqi forces began to assemble near the Kuwaiti border in the summer of 1990, several Arab states tried to intervene the dispute. Kuwait didn’t want to look weak so they didn’t ask for any help from the United States or other non-Arab powers for support. Arab mediators convinced Iraq and Kuwait to negotiate their differences in Saudi Arabia, on

On November 8, 1990 President Bush announced a military buildup to provide an offensive option, "Operation Desert Storm," to force Iraq out of Kuwait. The preparation of the operation took two and a half months and it involved a massive air- and sea lift.

Advanced Technologies. Lockheed Martin is bringing decades of experience of developing cutting edge technologically advanced systems to the marketplace. Through their legendary Skunkworks program, they have developed the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane and the SR-71 Blackbird. These are craft were operational long before the public even knew of their existence. The SR-71 developed in the 1960s still holds many speed and altitude records. The F-35 takes this experience and incorporates it. It is a fully stealth aircraft that uses advanced geometrical shape and electronic methods to remain undetectable. Each F-35 is fully linked to all other aircraft, being able to “see” what they see. The pilot wears an advanced helmet that allows them to see “through” the aircraft using 6 infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft, virtually eliminating any blind spots.

In today’s digital age, development of new technology and weapons are at an alarming rate, hence arises the need to stay ahead of advancements in order to properly defend the nation, as well as coalition forces and allies. In this period of warfare, the number one threat comes in the form of air breathing and ballistic missiles. During World War II, this threat was present, but was not thought to be prevalent.

In 1968, the Soviet Union came up with a new development- the building of antiballistic missiles defence systems. These were to be used for nuclear, chemical, biological or even conventional warheads in the homeland defence of such a strike because they were designed to counter ICBM’s. As a method to counter this development, United States came up with multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicles (MIRV’s) which improved the chances of avoiding detection by ABM systems. In addition to this, United States also developed its own IBM in order to match that of Soviet Union.

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

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has a huge amount of experience and technology in targeting and