Operation Instant Thunder was the preliminary name given to a planned air strike by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 during the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

. Designed by Colonel John A. Warden III

John A. Warden III

John Ashley Warden III is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force. Warden is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. His Air Force career spanned 30 years, from 1965 to 1995, and included tours in Vietnam, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Korea, as well as many assignments within...

, it was planned to be an overwhelming strike which would devastate the Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i military with a minimum loss of civilian as well as American life.

The planning of the operation made use of Warden's Five Rings

Warden's Five Rings

Warden's Five Rings represent a theory of military strategic attack, based on five levels of system attributes. They are named in honor of Col. John A...

 intellectual model. The name is a nod to Operation Rolling Thunder

Operation Rolling Thunder

Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of a gradual and sustained US 2nd Air Division , US Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force aerial bombardment campaign conducted against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968, during the Vietnam War.The four objectives...

 of the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

.

Phase one

The plan called for three separate phases. The shortest of these was the first phase, which would use "defense suppression" to establish control of the air space above Iraq and Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

. This was to be accomplished by eliminating enemy radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

, cutting off runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s used by the Iraqi military and neutralizing any surface-to-air missile

Surface-to-air missile

A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

 batteries

Artillery battery

In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...

.

This first phase of the operation would also include the bombing of selected military command posts as well as suspected locations of chemical weapons. A total of 84 targets were initially identified but this number was later increased.

Phase two

The second phase would attempt to incapacitate the Iraqi military, as well as the country's infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

. This would include the bombing of weapon depots, refineries and other locations critical to the success of the military. These strikes would cripple the Iraqi military by rendering Iraq unable to manufacture or repair weaponry.

Attention would then turn to disabling the civil infrastructure of Iraq, by destroying power plants, telephone line

Telephone line

A telephone line or telephone circuit is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system...

s and water treatment

Water treatment

Water treatment describes those processes used to make water more acceptable for a desired end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in the water, or reduce the...

 plants.

Phase three

Finally, the third phase would have seen the Americans engage the Iraqis in direct combat. Weakened by the initial stages, it was predicted that the Iraqi military would not be able to muster much resistance.

Implementation

Operation Instant Thunder planning started August 5, 1990. By the time fighting began on January 17, 1991, the three phases were consolidated into Operation Desert Storm, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...

 Colin Powell

Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...

was reluctant to support any action which did not include a ground offensive.

The tactics used by the American military during the operation would serve as a model for future conflicts in which the United States was involved.