WHAT THE WAR REVEALS ABOUT OUR MILITARY

High Tech Works

          Technology gave U.S. forces and their equipment the mobility, precision and battlefield awareness to bridge the historical gap between planning objectives and battlefield results. U.S. forces accomplished what they set out to do. Virtually every frontline weapon system used in the war had come under criticism at least once during its history for being overly complex, too dependent on temperamental technology or not dependable enough to perform reliably under the rigors of combat. Unlike our experience in previous military conflicts, the performance of U.S. equipment and forces in Operation Desert Storm exceeded even the most optimistic expectations.

          A senior Army commander commented, " Even after the cease - fire, our weapons and equipment were still running at over 90 percent operational rates ". An officer with the 1st Cavalry Division attested to the reliability of their frontline equipment by saying, " Ninety - eight percent of my brigade's equipment moved 300 kilometers during the first 24 hours of the ground war. That included 116 out of 117 of our MIAls and 60 out of 60 of our Bradley Fighting Vehicles ".

          Electronics - intensive tanks, airplanes, and missiles performed well in one of the most harsh and demanding environments imaginable. In particular, the turbine-powered Ml tank lived and fought in the gritty desert for extended periods of time without losing its combat capability. Frontline aircraft laden with sensitive electronics deployed and operated from austere airfields with consistent reliability.

          Although much of this success is due to the remarkable job performed by thousands of maintenance crews, the fears of those who advocated trading simplicity for complexity to get greater numbers simply did not come true.

Benefits of High Tech in the Air Campaign

          High technology allowed air power to achieve strategic military objectives. The precise nature of the air campaign makes it possible to pursue strategic objectives with less likelihood of inflicting massive damage and loss of life on civilian populations.

          High technology improved the effectiveness of several key components of the air campaign. The first is precision. Precise weapon delivery was the trademark of the Operation Desert Storm air campaign, as demonstrated by the destruction of roughly 50 military targets in Baghdad without significantly harming the other 500,000 buildings and structures in the city. Precision delivery was evident in the campaign against support infrastructure and dug-in forces in the Kuwaiti theater of operations.

          Precision plus innovation yielded tank plinking. Precision increased pilot safety by reducing sorties required to hit a target and allowed the majority of air strikes from altitudes above 12,000 feet. Precision permitted discriminate choice between disabling targets and destroying them. Precision harnessed the destructive force of strike warfare into a more disciplined instrument able to achieve maximum effects with minimal force -

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