Key Facts
- Sorties flown
- Over 100,000
- Bombs dropped
- 88,500 tons
- Campaign duration
- 17 Jan – 23 Feb 1991
- Air campaign commander
- Lt. Gen. Chuck Horner (USAF)
- Lead nation
- United States
Strategic Narrative Overview
Initial strikes combined B-52-launched cruise missiles, Navy Tomahawk missiles, F-117 stealth aircraft with laser-guided bombs, and HARM anti-radar missiles to suppress Iraqi air defenses. This enabled fighter aircraft including F-14s, F-15s, and F-16s to establish air superiority. Subsequent phases targeted armor and ground fortifications using A-10 Thunderbolts, AV-8B Harriers, and Army attack helicopters armed with Hellfire and TOW missiles, systematically degrading Iraqi defensive capacity.
01 / The Origins
Following Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, a U.S.-led multinational coalition assembled under UN authorization to expel Iraqi forces. After diplomatic efforts failed and a deadline passed, coalition forces launched Operation Desert Storm on 17 January 1991. The campaign opened with an intensive air offensive designed to degrade Iraqi command, control, air defenses, and military infrastructure before any ground operation was attempted.
03 / The Outcome
By 23 February 1991 the air campaign had substantially destroyed Iraq's integrated air defenses and weakened its ground forces in Kuwait and southern Iraq. The coalition then launched a ground offensive that swiftly collapsed Iraqi resistance within 100 hours. Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait, though Saddam Hussein's government remained in power and a formal ceasefire was declared on 28 February 1991.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Chuck Horner, Norman Schwarzkopf, Andrew Wilson, Bill Wratten.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.