The evolution of Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD)

IWM curator - Robert Rumble: "The course of warfare throughout the 20th century has been dominated by air power. From the early biplanes of the First World War to the massed bomber formations of the Second, air power has been used to scout and attack enemy forces, dominating the theatre of war. This has led to an arms and technology race between air attack, and air defence. Following the Second World War, and later into the Vietnam War, a new concept of aerial warfare was developed – the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences – or SEAD. SEAD would see the integration of technologically advanced systems, radar supressing aircraft, high performance strike aircraft, and radar hunting precision munitions known as ‘smart bombs’, to destroy the enemy’s ability to defend itself from the air. Two pivotal conflicts of the 20th century, which were key to the development of ‘SEAD’ were the Vietnam War of 1961-75, and later, the 1991 Gulf War."

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Duxford in Depth - The evolution of SEAD

Robert Rumble: "In 1965 the United States dramatically increased their military commitment to preventing the Communist takeover of the Republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam. They expected their superiority in air power and air technology to give them a significant advantage in dominating the battlefield. Their principal enemy, the North Vietnamese Army, was considered to be well equipped for ground warfare with mass infantry and artillery, but not for modern air warfare.  

The US Air Force carried out major strategic bombing offensives against North Vietnam, as well as against Communist targets in Laos and Cambodia; Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965 and later Operation Linebacker I and II in 1972. The scale of these bombing operations was immense. Throughout the Vietnam War, more tonnage of bombs was dropped on North Vietnam, than over the entirety of Europe during the Second World War. However, the Americans were surprised to discover that the North Vietnamese were equipped with one of the world’s most advanced air defence systems. Radar installations, anti-aircraft guns, and radar guided surface to air missiles - which had been supplied by North Vietnam’s allies, the Soviet Union and China - would make bombing missions over North Vietnam far more difficult and dangerous than originally anticipated. 

This immense aircraft is the B52 Stratofortress. It was one of the United States’ key assets for strategic bombing during the Vietnam War. Also known as the BUFF or Big Ugly Fat Fucker, it was active over South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1965 before playing a key role in the Linebacker offensives over North Vietnam in 1972. This big-tailed B52D has a modification known as the ‘Big Belly’, designed to increase conventional bomb capacity by 25%, meaning a fully laden B52D could carry a total bombload of over 40,000 kg or 98,000 lbs. 

But despite its enormous destructive capabilities, the B-52 had a major problem... 

Originally designed in the late 1940s as a strategic nuclear bomber, by the time the Vietnam War rolled around, the B52 was vulnerable to modern radar equipped air defence systems. Its large size and shape meant it had a massive radar signature, and this made the aircraft vulnerable to radar guided surface to air missiles, or SAMS. Missiles such as this, the Soviet supplied SA-2. 

THE S-75 Dvina surface to air missile, (known by NATO as the SA-2 Guideline) is a 10 metre long, solid fuel booster, and liquid fuel upper stage missile. It had a range of 28 miles and could carry its High Explosive FRAG warhead to an altitude of over 80,000 feet. Ground-based radar would guide the missile to within metres of its target, where it would detonate a blast of shrapnel forward of the aircraft, tearing it to shreds. The SA-2s had been a threat to US B-52s since the start of the Vietnam war, and with other large bombers and ground attack aircraft also being vulnerable, the SA-2 was becoming a serious problem for the US air force over Vietnam. A solution was needed, fast. 

That solution was the ‘Wild Weasel’ - US aircraft equipped with anti-radiation missiles. These were tasked with the suppression of enemy air defences by destroying enemy radar and surface-to-air missile installations. Wild Weasels were introduced in 1965 to reduce the North Vietnamese SAM threat. The task of a Wild Weasel aircraft is to draw enemy anti-aircraft defences into targeting it with their radars, whereupon the radar waves are traced back to their source, allowing the Wild Weasel or other aircraft to precisely target it for destruction. 

Wild Weasels, along with dedicated electronic warfare aircraft, and centralised command and control systems, builds the complex system of SEAD. The challenge of successful Suppression of Enemy Air Defences, is managing the complexity of radar detection, as well as the command and control of SEAD aircraft. If one element is missing, the whole concept of Suppression of Enemy Air Defences comes apart. During the Vietnam War this was still a new concept, the US Air Force were still using earlier Wild Weasel aircraft such as the Thunderchief and the F-100 Super Sabre, and lacked the computer-powered, precision guided bombs and munitions necessary for precisions strikes against enemy radar, SAM sites and command and control bunkers. 

After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, it was clear what improvements needed to be made and where. With the development of new computer systems, SEAD was quickly becoming far more effective than it had ever been in Vietnam. 

In 1991, the US Air Force would get to put these new improvements to the test during the Gulf War, where SEAD was used to devastating effect. The United States led a coalition of Western and Middle-Eastern forces to defeat the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and liberate the occupied Gulf state of Kuwait. As with the North Vietnamese twenty years earlier, the Iraqi armed forces were equipped with the latest and most advanced Soviet supplied air defence systems; Radar, SAMs and Mig 29 interceptor aircraft.   

The array of US and Allied SEAD equipment was formidable. The Grumman EA-6B Prowler was the nemesis of the Iraqi air defence system. In 332 combat missions, 30 US Prowlers jammed enemy radar transmitters and destroyed SAM sites with their radar seeking missiles. Also in the Gulf War was the F4 Phantom (the F4G Advanced Wild Weasel). This is an F4-J from the Vietnam war, but they were still in service 20 years later. The US deployed 35 modified Phantoms to the Gulf War, flying hundreds of missions to the loss of only one aircraft. The advantage of the modified Phantom was its two-man crew, pilot and electronic warfare officer, who were able to detect enemy radar sites and destroy them with precision guided missiles. Missiles such as the AGM 88 HARM (High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile). This was a major difference between the Gulf War and Vietnam; specialist electronic warfare aircraft equipped with advanced precision guided weapons. The 800 lb HARM locked on to enemy radar sites before either destroying them or forcing enemy radar to shut down their own systems, which was equally as effective. 

Even aircraft such as this A-10 Thunderbolt II were used to attack early-warning radars and similar sites along the Kuwaiti border, in operations known as "Wart Weaselling" (combining the Wild Weasel and the A-10 "Warthog" nicknames). Fearful of even turning their Radars on, the Iraqis were unable to use their Soviet/Western hybrid air defences systems effectively. Many Iraqi SAM operators resorted to firing their missiles ineffectively, with minimal, or even no radar guidance at all. 

Whilst US led, the Gulf War was an Allied effort, with SEAD missions being carried out by other coalition aircraft such as French Air Force Mirage F1s and Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR-1s. The Tornado GR-1 or ‘Tonka’ as nicknamed by the British, was the most versatile British combat aircraft of the Gulf War. The conflict demonstrated effective SEAD operations between aircraft of various Allied nations in coalition together.  

With all the aircrafts wing pylons occupied by radar pods or fuel tanks, the Tornado’s effective weapons were carried most often, under the fuselage. Weapons carried included the 1,000 lb Paveway II laser guided bomb, JP233 airfield denial weapons, and ALARM missiles. The ALARM is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppressing Enemy Air Defences. It was introduced by the RAF in 1990 and saw its first use during the Gulf War.  

The ALARM is a fire-and-forget system, with an added loiter capability. In loiter mode, ALARM will, when launched, climb to an altitude of 43,000 feet. If the target radar shuts down, the missile will deploy a parachute and descend slowly until the radar lights up. The missile will then fire a secondary motor to attack the target. 

The use of SEAD against Iraqi anti-aircraft systems was incredibly effective, and as a result the Iraqi Air Force was crippled in a matter of days. This meant US and coalition aircraft were free to attack Iraqi ground targets with minimal losses and meant that the war was over in just 100 hours. 

The Gulf War was a seminal moment in the evolution of advanced, computerised and computer-guided weapons technology. The United States clearly held a decisive technological edge over the Soviet Union, it’s greatest rival. The Iraqis were equipped with supposedly the latest and most advanced Soviet air defence equipment, which completely and utterly failed in the face of US and coalition-led SEAD. This crushing defeat sent shockwaves through the Soviet military and played a part in the collapse of Soviet military power later that year, and ultimately, the fall of the Soviet Union all together.  

Born out of necessity during the Vietnam War, and perfected in the Gulf, the Suppression of Enemy Air Defences had became one of the most effective and devastating methods of waging war in the span of just 25 years..."