In the spring of 1999 NATO started the air campaign Operation Allied Force against the Serb president Slobodan Milošević’s dictatorship. Operation Allied Force unfolded during a 78-day long campaign in former Yugoslavia. The aim of the operation was to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians in the Serb province Kosovo. The operation, that initially was supposed to be over in a week, continued for almost three months. Why did the campaign take such a long time compared to what was predicted?
The aim of this study was to analyze Operation Allied Force from a time perspective to be able to tell why the operation became so protracted. The analyze was made by consuming two of the best well-known air power theories written by Robert A. Pape and John A. Warden. The result showed that there were several different factors that contributed to the protracted process. Too strict rules of engagement, few targets, lack of resources and the lack of a unified strategy inside NATO are believed to be the main factors that caused the lengthy process.