29. In Conclusion 13 the Committee suggested that further attempts should be made to reduce national R & D in the defence field by an increasing emphasis on collaboration. The Government shares the Committee's hope for further savings by collaboration, and will continue to explore the possibilities of meeting requirements collaboratively whenever this would be efficient and economical. The search for collaboration is continuous and takes place both bilaterally with individual countries, and multilaterally. In the latter context a British initiative led to agreement by the Eurogroup in 1974 that there should be comprehensive joint reviews by its members of their forward plans for the procurement of equipment, so that all opportunities for worthwhile collabora- tion might be identified and pursued.
30. The Committee has also drawn attention in its Report to a number of particular points:
a. Cautious assumptions about collaboration in estimating; provisional nature of estimates.
The Government's observations on Conclusion 10 make plain the importance attached to realism in the Long Term Costings. A number of conditions are necessary for collaboration to be possible in any particular case, and it would be misleading to assume that these can always be met. However, as was stressed in oral evidence, a properly prudent attitude towards budgetary forecasting does not imply that pursuit of collaborative opportunities is less than wholehearted.
b. Possibility of collaboration or joint purchase where R & D content is low, in view of the potential advantages of lower unit costs and greater standardisation.
The Government is fully conscious of these potential advantages. The economic advantages of collaboration or of joint or reciprocal purchase tend to be more significant in high-technology equipments, especially where national production requirements are relatively small; and regard has to be paid to the additional costs that are inseparable from joint development and to the consequences for industry and the balance of payments of buying abroad. Nevertheless, each case will be considered on its merits, with particular attention to the advantages of standardisation, or at least interoperability, in operational use and logistic support. As one example, Britain, Germany and the United States are at present conducting a joint evaluation of future tank guns and ammunition.
c. An overall target for the share of equipment to be produced on a collaborative basis.
The Government is inclined to doubt the practical usefulness of such a target. It is strongly of the opinion that the way ahead lies through agreement on concrete proposals, and since exploration of opportunities for collaboration is already a requirement for all significant UK equipment projects, adoption of a quota system seems more likely to limit than to stimulate collaborative effort.
d. Prospects of agreements on reciprocal purchases on an off-setting basis.
The Government recognises that reciprocal purchases, either in the
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