Evolving story
Have a say on air power manual revision

By WGCDR Roger McCutcheon

AAP1000 Fundamentals of Australian Aerospace Power Handbook

In the skies over Afghanistan in 2001-02 during the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom, USAF B-52 bombers provided Close Air Support (CAS) to coalition troops, including our own SAS, from altitudes of 39,000ft using the all-weather, INS/GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM as it is more widely known.

Who would have thought even 10 years ago that the venerable B-52, the mainstay of the USAF strategic bomber force during the Cold War, would be providing tactical support to troops in Afghanistan in 2002?

This development in the employment of air power assets supported by emerging weapon technology is but one of the recent examples of how air power doctrine is continually evolving.

The RAAF’s core air power doctrine publication is the AAP1000, with the current edition, The Fundamentals of Australian Aerospace Power, having been published in 2002. The Air Power Development Centre in Canberra published the first edition of AAP 1000 in 1990 and subsequently there have been four editions.

In the normal four-year cycle of review, it is now time to prepare for the next edition. But why do we need to revise our basic doctrine at all?

In the current AAP1000, CAF states that our doctrine should be valid for both the present and immediate future. It defines core Air Force beliefs and how we fit into the demanding task of defending Australia and its national interests.

The next edition will no doubt contain much enduring air power doctrine, but some factors of recent origin that currently influence our air power doctrine would also have to be considered.

These developments include:

• The ongoing uncertainty regarding global security
• Recent RAAF and coalition operational experience in Afghanistan, Middle East, Solomon Islands and even within Australia
  (eg Air Defence for 2002 CHOGM conference);
• Technological developments in aviation and weapons in the past 2-3 years (eg UAVs, JDAM, space systems)
• New concepts such as Effects-based Operations and Network-centric Warfare (see future editions of Air Force News for more detail on these topics); and
• Organisational changes, such as the formation of a permanent Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC).

This year the Air Power Development Centre will begine the review of the current doctrine manual, a process that will involve a large number of people from across the Air Force and ADF. Revised chapters will be drafted next year, and the fifth edition published in 2006. So how can you contribute to the revision?

Here are some ways:

Get hold of an AAP1000, either at work or on a promotion course. Have a look at a section that involves your area of expertise and think about what could be covered better. Provide feedback to us at APDC on what you think is good or bad.

If you are not able to get access to the manual, contact us at APDC and we will send you a printed copy.
The AAP1000 is also available on our web site.

In summary, air power doctrine is critical as it provides vital guidance to the very way we equip, organise, train and ultimately fight as an Air Force. If our doctrine is invalid, or out of date, the risks of failure are high.

Let us know what you think.

WGCDR Roger McCutcheon is Deputy Director - Doctrine and Education at the Air Power Development Centre. For more information on the centre visit http://www.raaf.gov.au/airpower or email airpower@defence.gov.au.

 

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