Smart Bombs: The Most Important Factor In The Gulf War Of 1991

To what extent were smart bombs the most important factor in the way the Gulf war of 1991 was conducted?

Laser-guided bombs have been called the “invention that shaped the Gulf War.” (Correll, 2010). By the time of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, laser guided bombs were in widespread use. (Handwerk, 2005). In fact, 90% of the bombs hauled to Iraq’s borders were smart weapons. For some, the Gulf War is remembered as the war where smart weapons played a major role in the way the Gulf War was conducted. (Sample, 2003) For others, using smart bombs is meaningless because they result in minor victories with collosal death tolls (TV, 2012). There are both claims and counterclaims for these arguments. But lets investigate which statement is correct.
By the time of the war, the use of laser guided weapons was already very widespread (Sample, 2003) (Handwerk, 2005). According to the “Gulf War Airpower Survey”, the desert storm “reconfirmed that smart bombs possessed a near (…) target-destruction capability, and a (…) revolutionary development in aerial warfare.” (Correll, 2010). In fact, the 2,000-pound laser-guided bomb crashed through the hardened concrete of the Amiriyah bomb shelter in Iraq, creating a large hole as well as killing 208 Iraqi civilians. The bombs targeted Amiriyah because they had picked up electronic signals, and sattelites could see a lot of vehicles and people moving in/out of the bunker. (Handwerk, 2005). Before dropping the most widely used smart bombs (Paveway IIs and IIIs), an infrared laser illumitnated the spot on the target. This laser could be wielded by troops on ground, by the plane carring the bombs or by other planes. When the bomb is released from the plane, an infrared sensor on the smart bomb depicts the laser spot and sends signals that are able to control the smart bombs and steer it into position, ready to hit the target. These bombs were invisible to radars and had an average accuracy of 10 feet (Sample, 2003) (Correll, 2010). It must not be forgotten that there are also a few limitations about these
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