TNAG-0477-FCO40-542-Strength-of-garrison-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 132

A reduction in the numbers of MICA delivered in the period by 63 aircraft; the reduction of the Nimrod force from 31 to 24 aircraft; of the air transport force from 114 to 56; of helicopters from 100 to 74 and of tanker aircraft from 31 to 19. The disbandment of all RAF Regiment Field Squadrons. The total RAF manpower redmotion would amount to some 17,000

servicemen,

d. We would continue our contribution to the ACE Mobile Force

and retain the ability to place stationed forces in Germany on a war footing. But other specialised reinforcement forces (see para 16e above) would be reduced to an Army Brigade Group; augmented as required with offensive support aircraft and support helicopters, and would be available for use in the Central Region and on the Northern Flank only. The amphibious shipping would be reduced and retained as a wasting asset.

a

There would be large reductions in the planned provision of equipment and support. These have inevitably been assessed on a somewhat arbitrary basis at this stage but they include: the transfer of all ship-refitting from commercial Jards to the 4 RN dockyards in the UK; severe cuts in the provision of new equipment for all three Services, including 30 per cent of Army equipment and some 100 Army helicopters; between 12 and 15 air stations in the UK would be closed, 140 training communications and miscellaneous aircraft disestablished and

the flying rate for all RAF aircraft out by 10 per cent.

The large reductions in uniformed personnel would involve degree of compulsory redundancy over the next few years. .Civilian mampower would be cut by about 35,000.

Savings of about 10 per cent (about £M50 a year) in expenditure on R and D, Rather more than half these savings would be in extra-mural development as a result of cuts in equipment programmes and the remainder in the intra-mural support given by the Procurement Executive Establishments to the equipment programme. Further minor cuts would be counter-productive. A major cut could be achieved only by abandoning national R and D altogether in some particular field and relying on foreign purchase of equipment. There is no quantitative evidence that this would lead to important financial savings.

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