The Quest for Relevant Air Power

POST–COLD WAR CHALLENGES │ 45
pated the development of joint doctrine and defence structures. 195
Accordingly, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns, chief of the Air
Staff, argues in the foreword that jointness and multinational operations
must be a central theme to the generation of air power. 196
In this vein, three entire chapters in the 1999 edition were dedicated
to joint force employment. Furthermore, its subtitle British
Air Power Doctrine, as opposed to the previous subtitles Royal Air
Force Air Power Doctrine, underlined a single environmental focus:
establishing the RAF’s role as the prime custodian of British
air power thinking. 197 Besides this thrust towards jointness, AP
3000’s third edition introduced the concept of “air operations for
strategic effect,” thereby reflecting the debate on effects-based operations.
198 Since this edition predated much of contemporary UK
joint doctrine, it also contained large segments that are generic
across defence studies, such as the principles of war. 199
In comparison to its predecessor, which had not been firmly
embedded into a doctrine hierarchy, AP 3000’s fourth edition
aimed at distilling the underlying philosophy of air power into a
concise format by complementing joint doctrine rather than replicating
it. 200 One of the chief reasons to produce a revised edition
of AP 3000 was the need to reflect contemporary and enduring
operations doctrinally. 201 The revised AP 3000’s subtitle of British
Air and Space Power Doctrine particularly underlines the importance
of space to modern Western military operations. 202 In this
domain, the doctrine is relatively explicit about the UK’s dependency
upon US assets. 203
The RAAF for its part embarked upon an innovative air power
doctrine development process towards the end of the Cold War.
Being aware of the importance of sound air power theory and
doctrine, the chief of the Air Staff ordered the formation of the
RAAF Air Power Studies Centre in August 1989 at RAAF Fairbairn.
The centre was renamed Aerospace Centre in 2000 and
then Air Power Development Centre in 2004, but the primary
purpose remained the development of strategic air power doctrine
and the promotion of air power thinking. The centre developed
the RAAF’s first air power manual in 1990, which at that
time was the second of its type in the world. 204 Describing air
power as the dominant component of combat power in modern
warfare, Air Marshal R. G. Funnell, chief of the Air Staff, declared