Hi all; An unofficial US Army note on Air vs. Caves and Tunnels. It ain't easy:
Subterranean Warfare: A Counter To U.S. Airpower
Donald M. Heilig, Major, U.S. Army, April 2000
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Preface
Subterranean warfare may be the answer for the enemies of the United States. Over the past 100 years, subterranean warfare has evolved from a tactic to evade potential enemies into an extremely effective and efficient means to counter the effects of superior air power. As the
lethality and precision of U.S. munitions increase, our enemies will be forced deeper and deeper into the earth, possibly presenting overwhelming challenges to U.S. Airforce strategists. This research will identify lessons learned from past conflicts and could possibly influence future research and development in tactics and doctrine that will provide future warfighters the necessary tools to combat the tactics of subterranean warfare in the future.
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Future enemies will continue to harden existing positions and create new hardened positions designed to withstand indirect barrages and precise engagement by increasingly lethal munitions. This will render air power virtually ineffective in the future. This reality will cause the U.S. a number of problems should it encounter these tactics in the next war. These problems include, but are not limited to: 1) Target location and assessment is difficult, 2) Subterranean fortifications require direct hits by weapons in order to destroy them, 3) Subterranean structures can be repaired and reoccupied at little expense with limited resources, and 4) Battle damage assessment (BDA) is difficult. These problems will be discussed in detail in chapter three.
Interviews after Desert Storm indicate the effect of precision engagement. The following quote was taken from an Iraqi General as he reflected on the war.
During the Iran war my tank was my
friend because I could sleep in it. I knew I
was safe. During this war my tank became
my enemy…none of my troops would
get near a tank at night because
they just kept blowing up.
This sentiment demonstrated that effects-based strategy rather than an annihilation-based strategy could control an adversary, without destroying him. We have seen that as war evolves it becomes more of incapacitating things or capabilities rather than killing people. The strategy of the U.S military should be one of achieving this dominant maneuver through the use of technology (locating the subterranean structure) and then destroying it through the use of precision weapons rather than the saturation bombing of the past.
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The Gulf War showed that digging deeply and using tons of steel and concrete will not guarantee protection for precision penetrating bombs6. Future enemies will have witnessed the destruction in the Gulf and will continue to dig deeper, possibly well over three hundred feet. The Air Force currently has no capability to effectively penetrate that deep.
au.af.mil
My own hopes are that we will be able to locate caves by infrared and, well, leave the guys who are 300 feet underground to rule only that patch of territory.
-- Carl
P.S. I found this fascinating note (read it in its entirety if you found my quotes at all interesting) while searching for "napalm" articles on military web sites. |
