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and the French on the broad specification for the aircraft, to make a vigorous attempt to associato the Federal Republic of Germany with the project; an aircraft to the proposed specification would conform to a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation requirement and, if the Germans could be persuaded to adopt it, other countries which now had the American F 104 aircraft in service might also adopt the variable geometry aircraft as
its successor: the German requirement alone might be as large as our own,
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TECHNOLOGY said that the arrangements proposed for the development of the proposed variable geometry aircraft were satisfactory from the point of view of the British aircraft industry.
The French had agreed that leadership in the design of the airframe for
the aircraft should go to the British Aircraft Corporation and that all necessary pressure would be brought on Dassault to ensure their full co-operation; this would be of great advantage to our airfrane industry.
The engine for the aircraft would be developed by the French aircraft
engine firm SNECMA with Rolls Royce participation. If we did not proceed
with this joint project the French were likely to go ahead on their own
and also to strengthen their links with the American aircraft industry.
M
In discussion it was suggested that the case for the proposed aircraft had not yet been sufficiently clearly made out to justify
proceeding with its development, particularly at a time when we were making changes in our defence policy and commitments and when the need to reduce planned programmes of public expenditure was so great. Before any
decision was taken, a full statement was needed of the role which the
aircraft would have within the defence policy that we now had in mind, taking account of alternatives to it and of the proposed aircraft programme as a whole, including in particular the F 111. It night, for example, be possible to neet our noed by spreading out the deliveries of the F 111. We must also be clear about the extent to which the case for developing the aircraft rested on industrial rather than on military grounds.
On the other hand, it was argued that the Committee had already
discussed fully the role of the Anglo-French variable geometry aircraft
as a Canberra replacement and successor to the V-bombers in the tactical strike/reconnaissance role which these aircraft would have once our Polaris
submarines took over the nuclear deterrent task. It was generally accepted
that we should need a strike aircraft in the 1970s, and alternatives to the Anglo-French variable geometry aircraft had been fully discussed in the
Committee; although from the military point of view it would have been preferable on cost effectiveness grounds to purchase instead larger numbers of F 111 aircraft, this had been ruled out for industrial, political and balance of payments reasons.
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