Assessing Airpower’s Effects
Research Report
Assessing Airpower’s Effects: Capabilities and Limitations of Real-Time Battle Damage Assessment
John T. Rauch
Copyright Date: Aug. 1, 2004
Published by: Air University Press
Pages: 59
OPEN ACCESS
https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13784
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. i-i)
  2. Disclaimer
    Disclaimer (pp. ii-ii)
  3. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. iii-iii)
  4. Abstract
    Abstract (pp. v-v)
  5. About the Author
    About the Author (pp. vii-vii)
  6. Acknowledgments
    Acknowledgments (pp. ix-ix)
  7. Chapter 1 Introduction
    Chapter 1 Introduction (pp. 1-2)

    Since August 1914 when aviators first dropped bombs on unsuspecting targets to determine how air-dropped munitions affect their targets remains a challenge.¹ Early in World War I, airplanes and zeppelins conducted bombing operations with little feedback on the success of their attacks.² However, as air planners needed to determine the effectiveness of prior raids to guide subsequent planning, they began debriefing aircrews and, occasionally, examining photographs taken during the raids.³ Thus, the precursor of bomb damage assessment was born.

    The term evolved to battle damage assessment (BDA), but the pursuit of precise assessments of air-delivered weapons effectiveness continues. Developers improved...

  8. Chapter 2 History of Bomb Damage Assessment
    Chapter 2 History of Bomb Damage Assessment (pp. 3-13)

    To understand most of the contemporary issues surrounding BDA, one only needs to examine how airpower professionals have dealt with them in the past. Airmen repeatedly sought the same things from BDA, and they repeatedly found the same challenges. As weapons became more accurate, air planners needed more detailed information; and as the tempo of warfare accelerated, they needed that information quicker. This chapter examines how Airmen used BDA during World War II, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War to identify these trends and offers insight as to why real-time BDA is both desired and difficult.

    BDA was in its...

  9. Chapter 3 Battle Damage Assessment Today
    Chapter 3 Battle Damage Assessment Today (pp. 15-25)

    Following the Persian Gulf War, the joint intelligence community endeavored to address the difficulties identified in the war’s aftermath. The Military Targets Intelligence Committee (MTIC) created the BDA Working Group (BDAWG) with representatives from the unified commands, services, Joint Staff J-2 (Directorate of Intelligence), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and national agencies to foster the development of joint BDA doctrine and procedures.¹ Subsequently, the BDAWG attempted to standardize terminology, establish requirements for a shared BDA database, evaluate required support architecture for BDA, assess BDA training needs, and assist unified commands in developing BDA plans.² In addition, the Joint Staff created a...

  10. Chapter 4 Potential Solutions
    Chapter 4 Potential Solutions (pp. 27-45)

    Although several impediments exist, many potential solutions offer the promise of improving BDA timeliness. This study examines a wide range of technological, procedural, and organizational approaches for getting BDA to users quicker without sacrificing accuracy. Proponents of technological solutions are eager to show how their research or product can solve specific problems with existing BDA systems. People working within those systems are quick to point out that procedural or organizational changes can also make BDA more responsive to user needs. While each kind of solution offers its own distinct advantages, each is also limited in ways that might constrain its...

  11. Chapter 5 Implications for Airpower
    Chapter 5 Implications for Airpower (pp. 47-53)

    What does the future hold for BDA? Which, if any, of the proposals this study has identified will the services or the Joint Staff implement? How will these solutions and correlating benefits affect how air operations are planned and executed? These questions are answered by drawing on information in previous chapters, current literature, and interviews with individuals who work various jobs within the BDA process.

    This chapter explains the effects real-time BDA will probably have on future airpower planning and execution. To accomplish this task, two distinct themes are developed. First, this chapter details the improvements the joint community and...

  12. Glossary Joint Bomb Damage Assessment Terminology
    Glossary Joint Bomb Damage Assessment Terminology (pp. 55-56)
  13. Back Matter
    Back Matter (pp. 57-57)