The idea was to fire air- launched missiles to thin out the echelons of tanks well behind the forward troops, reducing the numbers so that the outnumbered Nato forces on the ground might be able to cope with those that got through. Back in 1978, we believed the Soviet Army was quite likely to swarm across the North German Plain. Large numbers of tanks, so many they filled the battlefield, would present a reasonable target for the Air Force. Dramatic advances in armour technology and the proliferation of such technology around the world mean we must possess a highly flexible, rapidly deployable weapon to protect our forces and those of our allies."When I started work in the Procurement Executive of the Ministry of Defence in autumn 1978, Air Staff Target 1238 - as it was then known; it later became Staff Requirement (Air) 1238 - was already filling the pink files Eighteen years later, the MoD has finally ordered it. Yesterday's announcement justified them in the usual jargon of defence speak. "The ability to defeat enemy battle tanks and other armoured vehicles will be vital to the success of national and coalition operations.

Its armed forces would be an instrument of British foreign policy, continually engaged in smaller conflicts around the globe.Such a review would result in the cancellation of the air-launched anti- armour weapon and the maritime patrol aircraft. How come?The anti-armour weapon and the maritime patrol aircraft are, in the main, hangovers from the Cold War. We would keep the Conventionally- Armed Stand-Off Missile (Casom). But most of the time, there would be no direct military "threat" to Britain. If we had such a strategic review, it would probably conclude that large-scale war was most unlikely, and that in any such case - a really major breakdown of international order - we would be able to rely on the Americans for some of the more demanding technologies. Two of the three are probably unnecessary. If Labour wins the next election, it has promised to carry out a "strategic defence review", looking at what the British armed forces are for and the world in which they will be operating, to determine what organisation and equipment they really need.

New toys for the boys Four billion pounds' worth, to be precise. A new, fast, air-launched cruise missile, so the RAF will not have to fly over targets and drop bombs on them; another air-launched missile, which seeks out and destroys tanks; and a new maritime patrol aircraft, to scout the sea looking for hostile submarines. And it could be argued that Mr Blair's revival of the Labour Party has only been possible because he was prepared to override the views of "old Labour", the long-standing supporters who again thought of themselves as being its principal stakeholders.Is there any lasting management nostrum which will not be overturned shortly after it is introduced? I have a candidate It is called "common sense" But I doubt it will ever catch on.. The two most vocal advocates have been the author Will Hutton and Tony Blair.Alas, this fine notion has met a more speedy nemesis than most.