A coming of age: the implications of precision guided munitions for air power.
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Authors
Conroy, Timothy M.
Subjects
Air Power
Military Technical Revolution
Precision Guided Munitions
Military Technical Revolution
Precision Guided Munitions
Advisors
Parker, Patrick J.
Date of Issue
1993-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
The thesis argues that air power now dominates modern warfare. The overwhelming
victory of the Gulf War stands as a symbol of the maturity of air power. In effect,
technology has caught up with nearly a century of air power theory, the early prophets of
air power were basically correct. The air war in the Gulf was revolutionary in the sense
that very few bombs were required to achieve an enormous amount of very focused,
precise destruction. The existence of precision guided munitions allows single aircraft to
accomplish what, in the past, would have taken literally thousands of aircraft to
accomplish or could not have been accomplished at all. The argument is based on a
comparison of the employment of air power in previous conflicts. A comparison is then
made with the employment of air power in the Gulf War. In the context of modern war,
the implications of the air war in the Gulf have profound implications for every warfare specialty. However this thesis only considers the implications of precision guided
munitions for naval air power.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
84 p.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.