The development of RAF air power doctrine 1999-2013

Fedorchak, Viktoriya

Abstract

In this thesis, the development of RAF air power doctrine in 1999-2013 is explored. Three issues of doctrine are explored in terms of the factors that influenced the preparation process. The four-factor model of doctrine preparation as developed by Oliver Daddow is applied to air power doctrine. The main factors included in the thesis are that of the external environment of previous and on-going operations, the internal environment of domestic politics in inter-service rivalry, the influence of networks of academic and independent contributors and, finally, the impact of authors on the doctrine preparation process.

The research demonstrates that, in the timeframe under review here, the doctrine preparation process was primarily influenced by the different stages of jointery institutionalisation. The dominance of jointery in national defence discourse stimulated the RAF to adapt its framework document – the environment doctrine in accordance with new trends in jointery. Therefore, the third edition of AP 3000 was aimed at demonstrating the service‟s commitment to jointery with the two other services. The fourth edition aimed at demonstrating that the service can produce a joint environment doctrine under single-service authorship. Finally, the last doctrine JDP 0-30 demonstrated a crucial shift from single-service to joint authorship over environmental doctrine and new trends in its preparation process.

The originality of this thesis lies in the chosen timeframe and the systematic nature of the analysis. This thesis fills an existing gap – to be precise the lack of systematic research on the development of RAF doctrine over the last two decades. This thesis is a logical continuation of the existing works on air power doctrine development which concentrated on the preceding decades. One key aspect of originality is the use of interviews to provide perspectives of doctrine development that were not previously available to a wider audience.

Citation

Fedorchak, V. (2015). The development of RAF air power doctrine 1999-2013. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4221582

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: May 16, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Politics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4221582
• Additional Information: Department of Politics, Philosophy and International Studies, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jun 1, 2015