Our Conflict Series is designed to draw attention to events since the end of World War Two. The Gulf War Air War started on the 17th January 1991 and ended on the 23rd February 1991.
Operation Desert Storm or Operation Granby as known by UK forces, revolutionised modern military aviation by ushering in the precision age of warfare. Coalition air forces, spearheaded by advanced fighters such as the F/A-18 Hornet, quickly achieved absolute air superiority over the Iraqi Air Force.
Crucially, this was the first conflict where precision-guided munitions (PGMs) were deployed en masse, allowing aircraft like the Panavia Tornado to hit critical targets with unprecedented accuracy while minimizing collateral damage.
RAF Maritime attack Buccaneers in action, launching Sea Eagle missiles. Designed for high speed, deep-penetration attacks at ultra-low level, the Buccaneer was always hugely popular with its aircrews.
The design may be old, but the concept was brilliant, and the Buccaneer retained a unique combination of range, warload and speed, unmatched by any other aircraft in RAF service. The Buccaneer found a new lease of life late in its career when it took part in combat operations during the 1991 Gulf War.
Col John Herschel Glenn Jr was an American Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, businessman, and politician.
He was the third American in space and the first to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a U.S. Senator from Ohio; in 1998, he flew into space again at the age of 77.
