Iraq 2003

Fully illustrated, this study explores the technology, roles, and combat performance of Coalition airpower in the biggest air campaign of the early 21st century. In 2003, a US-led Coalition invaded Iraq with the aim of overthrowing Saddam Hussain’s regime. Just as it had in the 1991 Gulf War, airpower played a vital role. However, this war was very different to its predecessor and represented a new style of warfare: focused targeting with precision-guided munitions and close integration with land forces made air power particularly effective and efficient. Airpower scholar and former RAF pilot Michael Napier explains how the 2003 air campaign was planned and fought. He describes the preparatory work that was carried out in the No Fly Zones before hostilities began, how the plan was changed at the last minute to attempt a decapitation of the Iraqi government, and how the campaign then developed to support both the advance of Anglo-American land forces and SOF operations against tactical