SECRET
ANNEX A to
DE 1778(C) (Preliminary Draft) (Continued
supplement Service aircraft.
However, the ATF provides
flexibility to undertake a wide variety of tasks and to react
quickly. Some requirements can be met more economically by
military rather than by civil aircraft. For example, only the
ATF can be relied upon for quick reaction for the movement
of a varied mixture of men and material in the same airframe (19).
Certain military loads are neither suitable for carriage in
civil aircraft nor is unloading practicable at the destination
without provision of special handling equipment. Moreover, civil
charter is often not available, particularly at short notice and
in the tourist season. Finally, there can be no guarantee that
civil operators will be prepared to take the additional risks
entailed in support of military operations.
55.
The 1974 Defence Review reduced the ATF to about half its
pre-1974 size. This reduction meant that it was no longer
possible to meet all requirements for airlift. In consequence,
priorities were approved by the Chiefs of Staff (19) and are
summarised at Appendix 4. Whereas the current airlift "Priority
One" includes "National Contingency operations, operations in
support of other international commitments and National operations
of an internal security nature", ie Priority Two Commitments,
each such operation affects lower priority airlift tasks and
results in cancellation, postponement or diversion to other modes
of transport. Not all Friority Two Commitments are afforded
Priority One for airlift. Training in Africa and support for
CENTO exercises are Priority Seven for airlift. Yet support for
Notes:
19
COS 4/76
A
29 SECRET