SECRET
SECRET
XIV. OPTION F - THE SCOPE FOR REALLOCATION OF RESOURCES AT LEVELS OF
EXPENDITURE BELOW THE CRITICAL LEVEL
Reallocation of resources
127. In Options D and E it has been shown that the measures that
might have to be taken to reach the First level or lower levels
of defence expenditure are so severe that every facet of NATO
strategy would be affected and Alliance confidence in it damaged.
It might in theory be possible to modify, and in certain cases,
confine the damage by reallocating resources from one sphere of
defence activity to another, and hence to strike a new and different
balance in the British contribution to the Alliance from the one
outlined in Options C, D and E above. However, the scale of the
damage in every sphere precludes alleviation by merely making minor
adjustments between the Services and/or PE. It would only be by
cutting out major packages of capability in one area and transferring
the resultant savings to another that damage might be confined to
selected sectors of the defence effort rather than affecting the
whole.
Approach F1
128. Various ways of achieving this have been suggested. They have
been examined on an illustrative basis and are summarised in
Annexes P to AA. The subjects examined are:
Maritime forces
ส. Placing in reserve half the forces
provided for ASW operations.
74 -
(Annex P)
SECRET
SECRET
Possible Annual Reductions
£50-60m