ABSTRACT
The coalition's air campaign against Iraq had already demonstrated that this war would be very different from past ones. There has been a true revolution in warfare, a product of high-technology weapons, communications, and command–and–control systems. The most convincing confirmation of the revolution in war was seen in the application of air power in the air campaign. A key element of emerging warfare is the notion of over–the–horizon targeting, which engages enemy forces even out of sight of ground–based sensor range. The best available candidates for such a mission are unmanned aerial vehicles, small drone aircraft that can fly around a battlefield making video, infrared, and other observations and transmit them back to command posts. Coalition forces displayed great operational flexibility, including unit initiative and battlefield innovation. The Iraqis claimed that the United States had deliberately attacked a civilian bomb shelter—statements they supported with televised pictures of civilian casualties.
