The Air War
The coalition's air forces greatly outmatched Iraq's in number of airplanes (2,790 to 650), technological development, pilot training, and operational strategy. The coalition forces' air assault involved mainly American, British, and French fighter planes and bombers, U.S. Army attack helicopters, and U.S. Navy intermediate-range missiles from submarines and surface ships.
The initial Iraqi targets were antiaircraft weapons, radar sites, and other air defenses; communications facilities; airfields and aircraft on the ground; surface-to-surface missile launching sites; and military command centers. Air defenses were rendered almost useless by laser-guided bombs that destroyed radar installations. Subsequent air attacks targeted ground forces; bridges, railways, and other transportation facilities; and plants suspected of developing nuclear and biological-warfare weapons and of manufacturing poison gas.
Iraq retaliated, beginning January 17, by attacking Israel and Saudi Arabia with intermediate-range missiles. The missiles were modified versions of a Soviet missile known in the West as the Scud. Mobile launchers were usually used, making it difficult for coalition forces to locate and destroy them. The attacks, 81 in all, continued throughout the war; they were of little military value, being largely directed at civilian targets.
The intent of the Scud attacks on Israel, which was not a member of the coalition, was to draw that country into the conflict in the hope that the Arab partners in the coalition would abandon the war and fight their decades-old enemy, Israel. The United States sent batteries of Patriot air-defense missiles to Israel to bolster that country's air defenses, and Israel refrained from retaliating against Iraq.
The Iraqi air force lost 35 planes in air-to-air battles with coalition planes and shot down no coalition planes. On January 26, in an attempt to preserve what remained of its air force, Iraq sent 148 of its fighter planes to seek refuge in Iran, which impounded them.
Coalition aircraft flew some 110,000 sorties against Iraq. When coalition ground forces were ready to attack Iraqi army positions, most defenses had been shattered and resistance was negligible. The destruction of Iraqi air defenses in the first days of combat was a major factor in the low loss of coalition aircraft, a total of 42 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, which included 13 U.S. Air Force planes.
The Iraqis suffered thousands of civilian casualties. The worst loss of life occurred on February 14, when some 400 civilians were killed in a building that collapsed after being hit with laser-guided bombs.
