1990 Gulf War

ATACMS in the 1990 Gulf War

U.S. Army and Defense Department sources document ATACMS combat use during Operation Desert Storm, including deep strikes against Iraqi air-defense, artillery, logistics, refueling, convoy, and bridge targets.

Weapon profileArmy Tactical Missile System / ATACMS
SideCoalition forcesRoleLong-Range StrikeInterdiction
Army Tactical Missile System / ATACMS, Short-range tactical ballistic missile, Artillery - 1990 Gulf War
Image source: ATACMSMay2006.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
U.S. Army ATACMS was used during Operation Desert Storm in the 1990 Gulf War.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, U.S. Army Then & Now ATACMS to PrSM, USAASC Preparation for Operational Testing

Two deep-attack MLRS batteries configured to fire ATACMS deployed to Saudi Arabia.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War

Ten ATACMS missiles were used in an opening SEAD attack against an Iraqi air-defense site.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War

ATACMS targets included surface-to-air missile sites, rocket and artillery batteries, logistics and refueling sites, convoys, and other deep targets.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War

Open secondary reporting says 105 Army TACMS missiles deployed to Southwest Asia and 32 were fired.

Sources: GlobalSecurity M39 Army TACMS

Timeline

Army Tactical Missile System / ATACMS In 1990 Gulf War

  1. ATACMS becomes operational as Gulf crisis begins

    The Defense Department report says ATACMS was first operational in August 1990 and that production was accelerated soon after the Gulf crisis began.

    Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War

  2. ATACMS used in opening SEAD effort

    During the first-hour suppression-of-enemy-air-defenses effort, 10 ATACMS missiles attacked an Iraqi air-defense site with reported success.

    Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War

  3. First combat ATACMS launches reported

    GlobalSecurity's Army TACMS background reports that A Battery launched the first two Army TACMS missiles fired in combat on January 18, 1991.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity M39 Army TACMS

  4. Army acquisition history revisits Desert Storm use

    Army AL&T described ATACMS as first used in response to Operation Desert Storm's strategic demands and later replaced by Precision Strike Missile modernization.

    Sources: U.S. Army Then & Now ATACMS to PrSM

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

ATACMS is directly documented in the 1990 Gulf War through U.S. Army and Department of Defense accounts of Operation Desert Storm. The Defense Department's final report to Congress states that ATACMS was one of two MLRS munitions used during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and that two deep-attack-capable MLRS batteries configured to fire ATACMS deployed to Saudi Arabia.

The same report describes ATACMS fired from the M270 MLRS launcher and used against surface-to-air missile sites, rocket and artillery batteries, logistics and refueling sites, and convoys. It also records a first-night joint suppression-of-enemy-air-defenses mission in which 10 ATACMS missiles attacked an Iraqi air-defense site.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, U.S. Army Then & Now ATACMS to PrSM

Timeline

ATACMS reached the theater as an accelerated early-production system. The Defense Department report says ATACMS became first operational in August 1990, production was accelerated after the crisis began, two ATACMS-capable MLRS batteries deployed to Saudi Arabia, and a conversion team deployed with deep battle kits to make standard MLRS batteries ATACMS-capable.

During the opening air campaign, ATACMS contributed to suppression of Iraqi air defenses. The Defense Department report places 10 ATACMS missiles in the first-hour joint SEAD effort, while later Army acquisition writing identifies the 6th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment as the first unit equipped with ATACMS and the first to use it in combat during Operation Desert Storm.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, USAASC Preparation for Operational Testing

Operational role

In Desert Storm, ATACMS gave U.S. ground commanders a corps-level deep-strike missile fired from modified M270 MLRS launchers. The Defense Department described the system as the operational commanders' deep-strike weapon for soft, stationary, and semi-fixed targets such as surface-to-surface missile sites, air-defense sites, logistics sites, and command, control, communications, and intelligence facilities.

The publicly documented mission set was not limited to deployment or possession. The Defense Department reported that ATACMS attacks apparently silenced targeted air-defense sites, that coalition aircraft using corridors cleared by ATACMS strikes reported no enemy air-defense radar activity, and that one short-notice ATACMS strike requested by A-10 pilots destroyed an air-defense target within minutes.

Open sources differ in detail. The official Defense Department report gives target categories and several performance examples but does not publish a complete missile-by-missile firing log. GlobalSecurity, summarizing Army TACMS background, reports 105 missiles deployed to Southwest Asia and 32 fired, including the first two combat ATACMS launches on January 18, 1991.

Sources: DoD Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, GlobalSecurity M39 Army TACMS, Redstone Army TACMS, CSIS ATACMS Background

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Sources