R ntelligence , urveillance and econnaissance during Operation Iraqi Freedom

T he large scale use and integration of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities during last year's Operation Iraqi Freedom air/land campaign remains the case study in the ISR game. While most observers focused on the impact of large scale precision guided munitions use in effecting a defacto 'three week duration war', these precision weapons relied largely on targeting data generated by the US 'ISR Constellation'. What is of no less concern is that in Australia few of the key lessons of OIF have been properly understood, let alone applied to ADF force structure planning. As with other current issues in RAAF force structure, rhetoric supplants analysis.