The Quest for Relevant Air Power

44 │ POST–COLD WAR CHALLENGES
attacks against Warsaw Pact airfields; layered air defence; and nuclear
strike operations. Also, regarding the spectrum of conflict,
AP 3000 bore the hallmarks of a Cold War paradigm. While it
identified nuclear, non-nuclear, and insurgent warfare, no explicit
reference was made to peace support operations. 188 Besides these
Cold War vestiges, however, the quantum leap, brought to light by
the Gulf air campaign, was cautiously being grasped by referring
to the outstanding effectiveness of PGMs. 189
Regarding AP 3000, Air Chief Marshal Harding particularly
identified three specific aims: “To foster a more cohesive approach
to air power education within the Service; second, to be the foundation
of our contribution to the formulation of joint-service doctrine,
and alliance doctrine with NATO or other allies; and, finally,
to enhance the understanding of air power within our sister-
Services, the Civil Service, Parliament and the general public.” 190
Though conceived during the last months of the Cold War, AP
3000 nevertheless provided a sound starting point for post–Cold
War doctrine development. The fundamental changes in the international
arena as well as Desert Storm made a revision of AP 3000
necessary. In the eyes of the then-director of defence studies RAF,
the Gulf War air campaign opened eyes that had previously been
closed and as such was a statement of progress. 191 Consequently,
within two years the RAF published AP 3000’s second edition. In
its foreword, Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon, chief of the
Air Staff, particularly highlighted the importance of recent operational
experience for the doctrine development process: “Since
AP 3000’s first edition was published, the RAF’s air power doctrine
has been reviewed and refined in the light of operational experience
in the Gulf and elsewhere.” 192 While the framework in
terms of chapter structure remained, themes such as the role of air
power in managing international crises or the effects of strategic
air campaigns were newly introduced or redefined, underlining
the perceived effectiveness of simultaneous strikes against a number
of target sets. 193 Despite these amendments, vestiges of a
NATO Cold War setting can be found, such as the concept of the
layered air defence of the UK or of a strategic nuclear campaign. 194
AP 3000’s third edition, published in 1999, was an effort to harmonise
British air power doctrine with the expeditionary strategy,
as laid down in the Strategic Defence Review of 1998, and it antici-