CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDEL.VIAL
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION
61. Before the Defence Review the annual equipment budget was
planned to rise from about £1,300 million
in 1974-75 to about £2,000 million in the early 1980s. The latter
figure will now be limited to about £1,500 million and a total
saving of some £3,200 million on the planned equipment budget will
be achieved over the next ten years. (at 1974 Survey pricee).
62. Expenditure on the Research and Development element of this,
together with manpower and other associated costs was planned
to rise from £440 million in 1974-75 to 2510 million
in 1978-79 and to fall away to £450 million in 1983-84. It will
now be limited to £470 million in 1978-79 and 2400 million in
1983-84 a saving of about 10 per cent. At a conservative estimate
the total saving on the R & D programme over the ten-year period
is now expected to be some £440 million. Most of these savings
will come from the development programme which accounts for some
three quarters of the R & D budget. But significant savings will
be made on research
equipment, capital facilities and
manpower in R & D Establishments,
Collaboration
63. The United Kingdom is already engaged on a number of collabora-
tive defence projects. The Defence Review decisions will involve
withdrawal from only one of these the RS 80 artillery project (see para 54).
Severe restrictions on the resources available for defence will
make collaboration even more important in the future, not only for
I
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CONFIDENTIAL