The arms race between air attack and air defence

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. SEAD would see the integration of technologically advanced systems to destroy the enemy’s ability to defend itself from the air.
In this video, Robert Rumble takes a look at two pivotal conflicts of the 20th Century, and how they were key in the development and evolution of SEAD.
See these aircraft up close. Plan your visit to IWM Duxford:
www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-dux...
Follow IWM on social media:
/ i_w_m
/ imperialwarmuseums
/ iwm.london

Пікірлер: 106

  • @pjbth
    @pjbth26 күн бұрын

    2:58 Thank you for using the proper wording

  • @flybeep1661

    @flybeep1661

    26 күн бұрын

    hear hear!

  • @jacksonwood229

    @jacksonwood229

    26 күн бұрын

    I was not expecting it and greatly appreciate that he didn't even hesitate.

  • @benbristow8412

    @benbristow8412

    25 күн бұрын

    @@jacksonwood229 hell yeah

  • @owensmith7530

    @owensmith7530

    24 күн бұрын

    @@jacksonwood229He's British, swearing is one of our national pastimes.

  • @jacksonwood229

    @jacksonwood229

    24 күн бұрын

    @@owensmith7530 I wondered where Australians got it from

  • @colonelblastpack169
    @colonelblastpack16924 күн бұрын

    the way he explains BUFF with his proper British accent and deapan university lecturing voice is pure gold.

  • @gojithecringe
    @gojithecringe26 күн бұрын

    B-52s nickname is a treasure

  • @Samuftie

    @Samuftie

    26 күн бұрын

    2:58

  • @andrewemery4272

    @andrewemery4272

    26 күн бұрын

    The Baby Killer

  • @pyro1047

    @pyro1047

    26 күн бұрын

    I prefer the C-5 Galaxys of "Linda Lovelace", if you know you know, especially if you know why/which features and abilities got it that nickname and how it correlates. But for your BUFF fix, the C-5's alternate nickname is simply "FRED" or "F**king Ridiculous Economic Disaster" due to its severe and constant cost overruns when initially introduced. At least it's not as insulting as the SLUF (Vought/LTV A-7 Corsair II).

  • @b.griffin317

    @b.griffin317

    25 күн бұрын

    I'm pretty sure it didn't end in "-er." Just saying.

  • @martinbrode7131

    @martinbrode7131

    22 күн бұрын

    A treasure? Are you nuts, man?

  • @michaelhowell2326
    @michaelhowell232626 күн бұрын

    Y'all deserve a like just for saying what BUFF stood for without chuching up.

  • @jonathan_careless
    @jonathan_careless26 күн бұрын

    5:20 This was unbelievably dangerous and Wild Weasel Pilots referred to this as "Hunting elephant guns with elephants." 😕

  • @bushidotenshi

    @bushidotenshi

    26 күн бұрын

    Very funny! But these elephants are equipped with electronic countermeasures and long range missiles!

  • @MadMatt13
    @MadMatt1324 күн бұрын

    Maxim respect for using the full namet crews used. History like that should always be remembered. Thank you.

  • @willcutty
    @willcutty26 күн бұрын

    b52 =buff........love it

  • @RingoBars
    @RingoBars25 күн бұрын

    Just here to add my voice to the chorus of: “thanks for using the proper naming for the BUFF” lol

  • @mynorsdiscord
    @mynorsdiscord26 күн бұрын

    Never thought I’d hear swearing on this Chanel 😂

  • @bloke755

    @bloke755

    26 күн бұрын

    Fook yeah !! 😆

  • @GNRtommy

    @GNRtommy

    24 күн бұрын

    It certainly elicited a giggle from me.

  • @I8ASUPRAforLUNCH

    @I8ASUPRAforLUNCH

    23 күн бұрын

    Curiously refreshing.

  • @b.griffin317
    @b.griffin31725 күн бұрын

    My visit to Duxford was one of the highlights of my trip to the UK two years ago. Still have fond memories.

  • @MaxPower-11
    @MaxPower-1123 күн бұрын

    Unfortunately, this video completely skipped over the most pivotal SEAD campaign of the 20th century: Operation Mole Cricket 19, which the Israeli Air Force carried out in 1982 - halfway between the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. It set the standard for SEAD campaigns worldwide that followed. The Israelis developed the comprehensive SEAD strategy that was carried out during that operation over the span of a decade following their almost total failure to destroy soviet-supplied AA systems from the air during the 1973 Yom Kippur War (and the resulting degradation of the IAF’s capabilities during the 1973 war due to this failure).

  • @Aeronaut1975
    @Aeronaut197526 күн бұрын

    "SEAD" is usually pronounced as "seed", as opposed to "S-e-a-d" (for brevity). Hats off for not bleeping out what the acrony of "BUFF" stands for. Also, no mention of the F-111 Raven?!

  • @danbuck11

    @danbuck11

    23 күн бұрын

    Seems to have been a piece centered around the exhibits the IWM has in Duxford and sadly they don't have a F-111

  • @vincentearlcarteriii1296

    @vincentearlcarteriii1296

    9 күн бұрын

    I'm glad someone said it!

  • @markwray3905
    @markwray390526 күн бұрын

    Thanks for posting 😊

  • @54mgtf22
    @54mgtf2225 күн бұрын

    Always interesting. Thanks IWM 👍

  • @pancho1993
    @pancho199321 күн бұрын

    Much appreciated the buff nickname, explanation. You have my respect! 😂

  • @RuskiVodkaaaa
    @RuskiVodkaaaa13 күн бұрын

    2:58 anyone else burst out laughing how random and unexpected this just was lmao

  • @timgosling6189
    @timgosling618926 күн бұрын

    For reference, those in the business pronounce it as in 'Seed'. No one I know ever spelled out the acronym. 'See-ad' was as close as it got. 'Radar-hunting precision munitions' are not smart bombs, although smart bombs may be used to attack radars. As far as I know all specific anti-radar weapons, such as HARM and the old ALARM and Shrike, are missiles, not bombs. Remember that the key to ARMs is to release them outside the engagement zone of the threat system; that's hard with a bomb. When mentioning radar-based defences, it's a shame you show a manually-aimed ZSU-23/2. The SA-2 warhead was not 'F-R-A-G'. The 'Frag' is a contraction of 'fragmentation', not an acronym. The damage mechanism, as far as I remember, was expanding rod with a lethal radius of 100+ metres. But it would not detonate 'a blast of shrapnel forward of the aircraft'; that would be what we call a miss. The fragments actually follow an expanding conical path ahead of and around the missile, fusing timed so that this cone will intersect the target. On the use of HARM, making the enemy shut down to avoid destruction is suppression, but only temporary. If possible DEAD is always better. In Gulf War 1 the Iraqis certainly did not have the latest Soviet equipment. We were very fortunate that we were up against an IADS largely comprised of relics from 20 or 30 years earlier, with only the odd Roland thrown in. SA-10, for instance, could have made a massive difference due to its ability to put missiles in the air without exhibiting tracking modes, and HOJ terminal guidance that would have made the then conventional ECM ineffective. And that leads on to my main point: SEAD does not make enemy air defences useless'. Against a peer or near-peer adversary it can give local/temporary air superiority and, as with other military domains, there is a constant swing between weapons, tactics and countermeasures. Modern SAMs can be highly mobile and the unexpected 'SAM trap' is still a major hazard. Please stop saying 'S-E-A-D!

  • @john_in_phoenix

    @john_in_phoenix

    25 күн бұрын

    Rumor has it that JDAMs are being sent to Ukraine with seek on jam guidance. May just be a rumor. I was under the impression that expanding ring warheads were implemented in the past 30 years.

  • @Tinderchaff

    @Tinderchaff

    18 күн бұрын

    Like you I am rather disappointed with the videos coming out of Duxford. They contain several errors; some visual, some verbal. Unfortunately this isn't the first I have seen and has put me off them. Considering their use of language, which many people have picked up on, it could have gotten them a warning from YT at the very least as they don't like swearing. Talking of bad language, the motto of the earliest 'Wild Weasels' was shortened to YGBSM or 'You Gotta Be Sh*ttin' Me!'. Apparently one of the first phrases they said when they heard about the mission for the very first time. Back then they did not have missiles and solely used dumb bombs and rocket pods to engage the radar sites.

  • @rolandvoss3600
    @rolandvoss360024 күн бұрын

    Very educational 👍 Thank you!

  • @r2crowseye
    @r2crowseye26 күн бұрын

    6:08 i love that the Thud is mentioned. 😍

  • @natheriver8910
    @natheriver891010 күн бұрын

    Very interesting 👏 👏 👏

  • @dedwoodgaming6119
    @dedwoodgaming611926 күн бұрын

    I love your museum

  • @LmgWarThunder
    @LmgWarThunder26 күн бұрын

    Never even thought about the potential for anti-radar missiles to exist let alone be employed

  • @PP266
    @PP26626 күн бұрын

    One of the greatest history channels there is. No quacks working for unknown universities in China and selling Wikipedia facts.

  • @geordiedog1749
    @geordiedog174911 күн бұрын

    Phantoms are fine looking planes.

  • @orionred2489
    @orionred248926 күн бұрын

    i remember an interview with a weasel pilot, and they said when they turned on the ecm, the plane would crackle and your hair would stand up.

  • @ajcrisologo2995
    @ajcrisologo299525 күн бұрын

    Are forgetting something like the f100 and f105 used the first anti radiation missle called the AGM-45 Shrike and the AGM-78 Standard ARM

  • @Bobby-fj8mk
    @Bobby-fj8mk18 күн бұрын

    The doco misses an obvious question - why weren't the Wild Weasel aircraft shot down by the SAM sites? It seems a bit dangerous to be flying around a SAM site in a war.

  • @OZOZOZ968
    @OZOZOZ96826 күн бұрын

    Love these videos from the IMW!

  • @dean42bean

    @dean42bean

    26 күн бұрын

    imperial mar wuseum

  • @geordiedog1749
    @geordiedog174911 күн бұрын

    “Buff” - I literally, not figuratively, lol’d at that.

  • @bilalabdi9148
    @bilalabdi914814 күн бұрын

    That thumbnail was somalia before Civil War, what a great nation 😊

  • @ianbell5611
    @ianbell561121 күн бұрын

    God Damn....

  • @houm7571
    @houm757115 күн бұрын

    Yeah, the good old days. A quarter of a century ago, I could bench press 200 pounds.

  • @N_Wheeler
    @N_Wheeler26 күн бұрын

    1:50 that B-52 is carrying the X-15 (?)

  • @owensmith7530

    @owensmith7530

    24 күн бұрын

    I thought that too.

  • @JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe
    @JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe5 күн бұрын

    Some conflict in the Middle East 67, 73 and 82 at least.

  • @shlomomark2275
    @shlomomark227526 күн бұрын

    You failed to mention 2 other conflicts that were essential for the creation of an efficient anti - anti aircraft missiles: The 1973 Yom Kippur war and the 1982 First Lebanese war. Operation Mole Cricket 19 on June 9th 1982 was the model used later in 1991 to destroy the Iraqi SEED

  • @ivanstepanovic1327
    @ivanstepanovic132723 күн бұрын

    Rendering it useless... That's an overstatement... Once the US tactics to counter air defense were known, counter tactics were developed. And while the air defense wasn't able to function with impunity, it pretty much remained functional... For example, NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, after the Iraq war... Yugo forces knew how long the radar was to be turned on, made false radar positions and radiation... So HARM missiles in most cases went for decoys. And in the middle of all that SEAD, a semi-mobile SAM system S-125 (SA-3) managed to shoot down an F-117. Also, several other planes were either downed or damaged and Yugoslav air defense remained functional through the entire war...

  • @russchadwell
    @russchadwell24 күн бұрын

    Call sign? ... Bob.

  • @tomfu9909
    @tomfu990912 күн бұрын

    Well, Iraq was not eqiupped with latest Soviet technology. Ukraine in 2022 is closer to what USSR had in late 1980s and as we see, they were able to deny air sapce to much advanced Russian Air Force

  • @terrysparrow2180
    @terrysparrow218015 сағат бұрын

    "If one element is missing, the whole concept of SEAD comes apart" Russians are like "Cyka Blyat dat too complicated, we just fly planes. Why we cannot suppress SAMs?!?" 😂

  • @juusotee4340
    @juusotee434026 күн бұрын

    Hi

  • @chadimirputin2282
    @chadimirputin228226 күн бұрын

    The hypersonic shovel has created a problem for modern day AA defence platforms and systems which can't be countered currently.

  • @occamraiser
    @occamraiser21 күн бұрын

    Interesting insight into the impact the Gulf War had on the end of the Soviet Union. Let us hope that the failure of the 'second best army in the world' to become the 'best army in Ukraine' will have similar consequences.

  • @hantykje3005
    @hantykje300526 күн бұрын

    @Imperial War Museum: Im surprised the parallell between ww2 era bomber streams and and 21st century missile and drone swarms are not mentioned. The idea is the same send enough weapon systems through an area and rend any fighter and gun/missile defences insufficient to deal with the attack.

  • @garylane9775
    @garylane977511 күн бұрын

    Ukraine's current offensive against Russian air defense (SEAD) will help achieve a renewed Ukrainian offensive using advanced aerial weapons provided by the West.

  • @biaduy8760
    @biaduy876018 күн бұрын

    I come from Vietnam And the Americans failed in my coutny skies, the US Air Force absolutely failed to defeat Vietnam

  • @asavelakuse6865
    @asavelakuse686517 күн бұрын

    Deny the sky

  • @michaelhowell2326
    @michaelhowell232626 күн бұрын

    I can't remember if it was Operation Linebacker or Rolling Thunder, but bc of the massive bombing runs, the North was days away from surrender, we just didn't know it.

  • @owensmith7530

    @owensmith7530

    24 күн бұрын

    I doubt that, do you have a reference?

  • @michaelhowell2326

    @michaelhowell2326

    24 күн бұрын

    @@owensmith7530 I honestly don't. I can't support it with references or any of the such. But it the one that was constant bombardment for weeks and weeks around the clock with B-52s along the Hochi Minh trail. They were super close but we let up too soon and abandoned the concept bc we didn't think it was having the effect we were looking for.

  • @Essah15
    @Essah1521 күн бұрын

    Radar hunting precision munitions are Anti-Radiation missiles, not Smart bombs, and its a frag warhead, (from fragmentation) not EF AR AY GEE.

  • @bitferret-rx5rn
    @bitferret-rx5rn15 күн бұрын

    he said the Gulf war played a role in the fall of soviet union... its a palpable lie

  • @pyeitme508
    @pyeitme50826 күн бұрын

    BRUH!

  • @onenote6619
    @onenote661926 күн бұрын

    You are saying that SEAD makes Air Defence useless? You might want to mention that to all the pilots shot down in the Gulf War.

  • @nightjarflying

    @nightjarflying

    26 күн бұрын

    He didn't say that though

  • @prfwrx2497

    @prfwrx2497

    26 күн бұрын

    SEAD won't make for zero aircrew casualties. SEAD does enable for air supremacy. Look what happened to Saddam's vaunted army courtesy of coalition air power, brought to you by SEAD. Air defense is considered useless if it can't achieve air denial.

  • @BatMan-oe2gh

    @BatMan-oe2gh

    25 күн бұрын

    You should do some research before commenting. During the 1991 Gulf War, the coalition forces lost a total of 75 aircraft. Of these, 52 were fixed-wing aircraft, and 23 were helicopters. Interestingly, only 42 of these losses were due to Iraqi action, while the remaining 33 were lost due to accidents. Iraqi anti-aircraft defences, including man-portable air-defense systems, were surprisingly ineffective against enemy aircraft, contributing to the relatively low number of losses. An estimated 407 Iraqi aircraft were either destroyed or flown to Iran and permanently impounded there.

  • @lachlanchester8142

    @lachlanchester8142

    24 күн бұрын

    He literally said the planes that had sead capabilities only had 1 shot down

  • @onenote6619

    @onenote6619

    22 күн бұрын

    @@lachlanchester8142 He did. But he also said that Mirage and Tornado carried out SEAD missions. Which is untrue. JP233 (on the Tornado) and Durandal (on the Mirage) are runway denial munitions, not SEAD.

  • @Shinzon23
    @Shinzon2326 күн бұрын

    Anyone kind of feel a bit weird that he actually called it by what the air crew called it and didn't censor the word at all?

  • @nightjarflying

    @nightjarflying

    26 күн бұрын

    No

  • @TCK71

    @TCK71

    24 күн бұрын

    Not in the slightest snowflake.

  • @douglasjohnson4382
    @douglasjohnson438224 күн бұрын

    Swearing makes him feel like an adult.

  • @Kirk1914
    @Kirk191425 күн бұрын

    OMG. Did I hear the IWM say that SEAD contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. How incredibly shallow.

  • @bikenavbm1229

    @bikenavbm1229

    25 күн бұрын

    agreed bit silly that bit

  • @lachlanchester8142

    @lachlanchester8142

    24 күн бұрын

    No you didn’t, he said it was a part of the loss of soviet military power, which was a part of the fall of the ussr, try listening a bit harder next time

  • @tysonator5433
    @tysonator543325 күн бұрын

    Ukraine needs this tech, and capability to suppress Anti Aircraft systems. In order to gain air superiority over the Russians.

  • @user-xj6rr3yv8q
    @user-xj6rr3yv8q19 күн бұрын

    So now I am going to hear the F word from the IWM? Really? So I will not have children listen to your channel.

  • @redjacc7581
    @redjacc758126 күн бұрын

    The war in Ukraine has shown that attack helicopters and CAS (close air support) are redundant due the lethality of AA systems.

  • @Chilly_Billy

    @Chilly_Billy

    26 күн бұрын

    Wrong. You're dealing with two countries using very similar if not identical equipment. All capabilities are know to both sides. Neither has a significant advantage in technology or capability over the other. Replace either side with Western tech or capability and it's game over. Case in point, Israel's total domination over Russian anti-air defenses in Syria.

  • @Wild_Danimal

    @Wild_Danimal

    26 күн бұрын

    I also have ridged opinion

  • @flybeep1661

    @flybeep1661

    26 күн бұрын

    This is wrong.

  • @Ubique2927

    @Ubique2927

    25 күн бұрын

    Wrong.. The useless Russian equipment, strategy and tactics are the problem.

  • @margin606
    @margin60626 күн бұрын

    Wash your mouth out with soap and water

  • @bjorntorlarsson
    @bjorntorlarsson26 күн бұрын

    WARNING! Content unrelated to the headline. This is a spam video.

  • @jimmers123

    @jimmers123

    26 күн бұрын

    Try watching.

  • @Ubique2927

    @Ubique2927

    25 күн бұрын

    Yours is a spam comment.