OverviewUnderstand the evolution and change to American aviation

strategy between Vietnam and Operation Desert StormKnow how military aviation and national defense strategy

changed as the result of precision weapon systems

Classroom Exercise

Early TheoristsArmy Air Corps Colonel Billy Mitchell

He believed that aircraft were inherently offensive and strategic weapons that revolutionized war by allowing a direct attack on the "vital centers" of an enemy country. These vital centers were the mighty industrial areas that produced the vast amount of armaments and equipment so necessary in modern war

His writing greatly influenced the development of U.S. airpower strategy entering World War II and captured as previously discussed in AWPD-1

Did the Allied Strategic Bombing Campaign achieve Mitchell’s vision?

Precision Weapon DevelopmentCertainly there were attempts by several nations to increase

the precision and accuracy of airborne weapons as early as World War II. The German V2 rocket and the American glide bombs were early attempts.

However the technology rarely provided both the capability and the reliability needed to be considered effective

Precision WeaponsWith the emergence of new technology, specifically computer

sophistication/reduction in size, laser guidance, visual technologies (i.e. television) and the Global Positioning System, airborne weapon precision radically increased.

In World War II, getting 50% of weapons on target was considered exceptional…now not getting 100% of weapons on target is unforgiveable

The question then is what to target?

Colonel John BoydOODA Loop

Observe, Orient, Decide and Act If an individual (or a nation) can

accomplish this faster than their opponent, then they have a far greater chance at victory

Boyd argued that military operations are divided into three distinct spheres: Tactical, Operational and Strategic.

The faster a military and transverse within these levels (decentralized command structure and organization), the faster and more efficient is its OODA loop.

Colonel John BoydFor example: A fighter pilot returning from a

dogfight observes a change in the enemy’s aircraft performance or capability (Tactical)

A plan is developed to exploit this weakness for future dogfights, the plan is passed to Operational HQ

HQ validates the plan and passes information to all of its pilots across the battlefield as well as upward the Chain of Command (Operational)

Aircraft designers/strategists change the overall war plan and aircraft design to exploit their advantage (Strategic)

The next dogfight the pilot employs the new strategy to success (Tactical)

The Rings – Colonel John Warden

"If we are going to think strategically, we must think of the enemy as a system comprised of numerous subsystems … we must focus on the totality of our enemy, then on our objectives, and next on what must happen to the enemy before our objectives become his objectives.“

In essence, Warden conducted a critical analysis of the enemy (peeling back their system), searching how best airpower could be focused in order to force the adversary to comply the desired end state.

The Rings – Colonel John Warden

Warden’s model is described by five concentric circles with leadership as the inner circle and expanding to organic essentials, infrastructure, population, and fielded forces. (But is this new thinking?)

All organizations, whether a state or military organization, have someone or a body of individuals controlling and directing the process. If one could destroy or neutralize this leadership ring, the entire organization would be incapacitated or decapitated. The strategic goal, therefore, is to force the "leadership" to make concessions due to the force applied to itself or the rest of the system.

Warden’s Theory also dovetails nicely with Boyd’s OODA Loop

The Rings – Colonel John Warden

While controversial and divisive in some military corners (especially with pre-Desert Storm military leadership), Warden’s central theme, became the guiding theme used by the Pentagon’s Checkmate Planning Team in creating the air strategy for Operation Desert Storm.

The Desert Storm air campaign not only transformed military operations, but to some degree altered the American public’s view of the military itself.

Finally, Technology Enables Strategy? To some degree, Operation Desert Storm set the stage for future

military strategy and operations through as some aviators argued the final matching of strategy to capability.

Precision weapons to many in the Gulf War finally validated the importance of airpower as envisioned by air theorists since World War I

The question is…was it successful? What impact did it play in Desert Storm?