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 ballistic missiles in the western desert. He analyses in detail the relationship between the conduct of air operations and progress on the battlefield during the three-week war.
Illustrated with dramatic artwork, 3D diagrams, maps and photos, this book assesses what made Iraq 2003 the textbook air campaign of the early 21st century.
Michael Napier qualified as an RAF strike/attack pilot in 1985 and was based in Germany during the Cold War. He flew operations over Iraq after the first Gulf War and left the RAF in 1997 for a second career as an airline pilot. He has written for various aviation magazines including Flypast and The Aviation Historian as well as numerous books for Osprey on modern airpower. Michael lives near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
Gareth Hector is an internationally renowned aviation illustrator.