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• Airpower played a critical role in Operation Inherent Resolve, based on the "by, with, and through" strategy, which placed local partners as leaders of the fight to destroy the caliphate. In turn, partners' capabilities and interests shaped how airpower was used.
• Although more-aggressive air operations might have slightly accelerated the defeat of ISIS, they are unlikely to have significantly altered the timeline.
• The deep fight in Operation Inherent Resolve affected ISIS's finances, but it could not affect ISIS's main center of gravity—territory—meaning that strategic attack did not play a decisive role in this operation.
• Critical enablers, such as remotely piloted aircraft and aerial refueling aircraft, were in high demand and provided vital capabilities but were at times overstretched.
• Essential wartime skills, such as deliberate-targeting and defensive counterair operations, were used for the first time in years in a real operation, requiring reinvigoration of these proficiencies.
• Battlespace management within the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition was a point of disagreement, particularly between the Combined Joint Task Force Commander and the Combined Air Forces Component Commander, and affected the development of the deep fight.
• Necessary efforts to prevent civilian casualties and reduce collateral damage depleted precision-guided munition stockpiles.

Airpower played a pivotal role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from 2014 to 2019 and contributed to the success of Operation Inherent Resolve. This report sheds light on the impact of the air operations in Operation Inherent Resolve and whether airpower could have been applied differently to achieve faster, more-sustainable outcomes. The authors incorporate interviews with U.S. and coalition personnel, primary-source documents, and U.S. and coalition strike and sortie data to document the operational history of the air war, assess the relationship between airpower effects, and analyze the strategic and operational impact of airpower in Operation Inherent Resolve.

The authors find that, although airpower played an essential role in combating ISIS, airpower alone would not have been likely to defeat the militant organization. Instead, the combination of airpower and ground forces—led by Iraqi and Syrian partners—was needed to destroy the Islamic State as a territorial entity. The overarching strategy of Operation Inherent Resolve, which put ground-force partners in the lead, created several challenges and innovations in the application of airpower, which have implications for future air wars. To be prepared to meet future demands against nonstate and near-peer adversaries, the U.S. Air Force and the joint force should apply lessons learned from Operation Inherent Resolve.

• Introduction

  • Chapter One

    Airpower and the War Against the Islamic State

• Part One

  The History of Airpower in Operation Inherent Resolve

  • Chapter Two

    The Air War Against the Islamic State, Phase I, August 2014– March 2016

  • Chapter Three

    The Air War Against the Islamic State, Phases II and III, April 2016–March 2019

• Part Two

  The Application of Airpower in Operation Inherent Resolve

  • Chapter Four

    The Close Fight: Air-to-Ground Coordination

  • Chapter Five

    The Deep Fight: Deliberate-Targeting Operations

  • Chapter Six

    Enabling the Fight: Defensive Counterair and Air Mobility Operations

• Conclusion

  • Chapter Seven

    Airpower Against the Islamic State: Lessons and Recommendations for Future Air Wars

• Appendixes

  • Appendix A

    Timeline of the Air Campaign in Operation Inherent Resolve

  • Appendix B

    Commanding and Controlling Airpower Against the Islamic State

  • Appendix C

    Operation Inherent Resolve Air Order of Battle

  • Appendix D

    Data Collection, Assumptions, and Application